A Ground-breaking Win for ITServe Against USCIS
This ruling is a life-saver for companies that provide business services because it restores predictability as well as saves companies hundreds of millions of dollars.
DALLAS, March 15, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Since 2018, ITServe Alliance (ITServe) has been challenging the erratic H-1B adjudication pattern by USCIS for the last 10 years. The association had a big win in the ITServe Alliance vs. L. Francis Cissna case (Case 1:18-cv-02350-RMC) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The District Court invalidated the Neufeld Memo, and the Feb 22, 2018 Contracts and Itinerary Memo. The court gave the agency 60 days to take action on all the pending petitions. ITServe expects them to be approved.
The Court made four significant decisions in favor of ITServe. First, the DC Court invalidated the 'Neufeld Memo' that USCIS has been illegally relying on since 2010. Under this memo, USCIS established a complex test to determine if a company and the H-1B professional it petitioned met the definition of an employer-employee relationship. However, the Court ruled that the current USCIS interpretation of the employer-employee relationship requirement is inconsistent with its regulation, was announced and applied without rulemaking, and cannot be enforced.
The Court also invalidated the February 22, 2018 internal 'Contracts and Itinerary Memo'. The USCIS requirements that employers (1) provide proof of non-speculative work assignments (2) for the duration of the visa period is not supported by the statute or regulation and is arbitrary and capricious.
In addition, the court ruled that USCIS cannot require petitioners to produce client work assignments for H-1B approvals. The law clearly states that USCIS should not require employers to list, in effect, all work or contracts that would be performed during the next three years in order to receive an H-1B petition for a computer professional. However, that is what USCIS began doing.
The court also ordered USCIS to provide its reasoning explaining its rationale for any short-term approvals or denials, in whole or in part.
ITServe, whose larger vision is to come forward as the collective voice of IT Services companies in the US has been fighting against the unfair H-1B policies of USCIS for years now. Their victory by way of this historic judgment is one aspect of their overall stand on the issue of business immigration in the USA and making the Agency accountable. ITServe's 2020 PAC Director, Deepali Khadakban reiterated this point saying, "We are just getting started and we have a lot more items that we need to accomplish and demand justice on behalf of H-1B employees and employers."
About ITServe Alliance
ITServe Alliance is the largest association of IT Solutions & Services organizations in the US, representing over 1,250 member companies. The Alliance is the voice of all prestigious IT companies functioning with similar interests across the United States. Through the years, ITServe has evolved as a capable and respected platform to collaborate and initiate measures in the direction of protecting common interests and ensuring collective success of its member companies. Since its inception in 2010, ITServe Alliance has served to strengthen the knowledge, skills, and value of its members across the nation through its 16 country-wide Regional Chapters. Mr. Amar Varada is the current national President of ITServe Alliance. Other notable office bearers include: Manohar Kasagani (Secretary), Kishore Khandavalli (PAC Advisory Director)
For further information, contact Deepali Khadakban at [email protected]
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SOURCE ITServe Alliance
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