The USCIS recently published a comprehensive policy guide that outlines the criteria for evaluating an employer’s ability to pay the offered wage for immigrant petitions.
This guide is specifically designed for specific categories of immigrant visas based on employment, which include the first, second, and third preferences. It focuses on situations where workers who are sponsored by their employers decide to switch to a different employer.
Important Updates
The guide provides information on how the USCIS evaluates an employer’s financial capability when a sponsored worker changes employers under the AC21. During this process, the USCIS only takes into account the financial status of the initial employer from the priority date until the filing of the I-140 petition. This allows workers to explore new opportunities while ensuring that the initial employer has the required financial means.
The guide places greater emphasis on a more detailed evaluation of an employer’s capacity to pay, expanding on previous guidance from March 2023. The USCIS now highlights the importance of conducting a comprehensive assessment of the employer’s financial viability. This involves not only examining conventional documents such as annual reports and tax returns, but also scrutinizing bank statements, personnel records, income and assets of other relevant parties, credit lines, and the overall significance of the employer’s business operations.
By implementing this change, a company’s genuine financial capacity can be assessed with greater precision, especially in the case of new or unconventional business models. The objective of this simplification endeavour is to enhance efficiency and offer transparency to both petitioners and decision-makers. The ultimate aim is to accelerate processing timelines and establish an overall more streamlined system.
Impact on Applicants
There are several benefits for applicants as a result of this update:
1. Sponsored workers now have increased flexibility to explore new opportunities without putting their immigration petitions at risk, thanks to the clarification of the AC21 provision.
2. The new approach to financial evaluation ensures a fairer and more accurate assessment of an employer’s ability to support the offered wage.
3. The simplified language and procedures minimize confusion and speed up the processing of petitions.
Conclusion
The USCIS has just published a policy guide to assist employers in navigating the complex process of immigration, specifically regarding meeting financial obligations related to wages. It is highly recommended that stakeholders thoroughly examine the updated guidelines in Volume 6, Part E, Chapter 4 of the Policy Manual to ensure compliance with the latest criteria. This release demonstrates USCIS’s commitment to providing clear, transparent, and helpful guidance to individuals seeking to adjust their status through employment-based immigrant visa classifications in an ever-changing landscape of immigration policies.
