Over the last two years there has been an assault by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) on H-1B specialty occupation workers and the employers who sponsor them in the IT consulting arena. This issue actually dates back to the 2010 Neufeld Memo. The Memo laid out guidelines for employer-employee relationships at third-party worksites. It was then followed by USCIS’ Contracts and Itineraries Memo issued in 2018, further impacting H-1B employees and employers by requiring a day-to-day itinerary proving non-speculative work assignments for the entirety of the requested approval period – this Memo directly contradicted the regulations and was ripe for challenge.
Employers nationwide initiated a tidal wave of litigation in multiple jurisdictions across the country, with the ITServe Alliance Case filed in the D.C. District Court leading the charge. Accompanying ITServe is the Kitestring litigation, another case filed in the same court, by yours truly at Kuck Baxter Immigration – also being favorably settled today.
Fortunately, the Itinerary Rule will no longer be an issue due to a settlement in ITServe where USCIS agreed to rescind the 2018 Memo within 90 days. This brings us back to the clear intent of the regulations for H-1B specialty occupation workers in the IT consulting world.
Importantly, the settlement will not require USCIS to retroactively reopen past decisions. Litigation may still be key to correct erroneous decisions issued before now, but it should be a relatively uncontested and effective strategy where necessary.
Feel free to call Your Kuck Baxter Immigration attorney or paralegal at 404-816-8611 with any questions.
