H-2B Visa Employer Series: I-129, I-907, 9142B…How Many Pages?!?
You did it! You filed your 9141 and received your Prevailing Wage Determination, submitted your 9142B with a persuasive Statement of Temporary Need, recruited U.S. workers across various methods and contacted former employees to demonstrate that you are unable to find local workers, and you have now received your H-2B Visa Full Certification! Unfortunately, Employers can not stop there. Following the H-2B Visa Full Certification, Employers must proceed to USCIS and submit an even more elaborate H-2B Visa application packet. And, unlike the 9142B, the packet for USCIS must be sent in paper form, oh, and in duplicate! If this Post comes across with tones of frustration, I apologize in advance, but once an Employer goes through this portion of the H-2b Visa application process, I have full confidence that it will be a mutual feeling! This Post will be broken into two sections; The Where and The What. So please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the redundancy of this process.
The Where
“The Where” is dependent on the following:
Where is your business located?
Are you using premium processing? (YES YOU ARE!)
What shipping service are you using?
Depending on where your business is located, your packet will either be sent to an East Coast or a West Coast processing center. Please review this LINK thoroughly as it contains all of the information you will need.
If you are using premium processing, which means filing an I-907 with your packet and paying an additional $1500.00 to hopefully receive USCIS Approval within 15 days of filing, then your H-2B visa application must be sent to the Premium Processing Service Center for the proper Coast. Again, this LINK is your best friend. Take your time and make sure you understand it well.
In the rare case that you choose to not use premium processing, where you file is dependent also on which shipping service you choose. USPS may have a different processing center or shipping address than UPS, FedEx, or DHL, but again, this can also be dependent on which Coast is proper for your filing. Again, this LINK is essential. I cannot emphasize enough that every employer or attorney should review this LINK prior to shipping an H-2B visa application packet to USCIS.
The What
Now that you know where you plan to send the H-2B visa packet, let’s talk about what is going to be included in this packet. You may be thinking, “It’s probably just the I-129 and I-907…I have already submitted a 9141, 9142B, Statement of Temporary Need, Job Order, etc.” And you would be wrong. To summarize, EVERYTHING that you submitted via FLAG must now be submitted in paper format to the proper address. Below is a list that is generally sufficient, but every case varies, so please do not take this list as exhaustive for your filings.
CHECKS - The current fees for an H-2B visa application with premium processing is $2110.00. This includes a $460.00 I-129 fee, a $150.00 fraud prevention fee, and a $1500.00 I-907 premium processing fee.
Form I-907 Request for Premium Processing Service - As noted above, 99% of the time is it best to request premium processing. This pushes an H-2B application to the front of the line and increases the odds that the application will be reviewed in a timely manner prior to the H-2B cap being met.
Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker - This is a lengthy document, but only a small portion applies to H-2B applicants. It is crucial that an applicant read this document carefully and review the Instructions for the I-129 as well to reduce the chances of an error that would result in delayed processing.
Everything mentioned below should have been submitted via FLAG as part of the 9142B application process.
Temporary Labor Certification and Certified 9142B - Include the e-mailed Certification notification as well as a copy of your 9142B that states on the bottom of each page that the 9142B received “Full Certification”.
Signed Appendix B (from 9142B)
Statement of Temporary Need - If you attached a Statement of Temporary Need or evidence to support your application via FLAG, this must be included in this packet as well. If you were able to fully argue your temporary need in the small text box on FLAG and did not attach documents, then please ignore this point.
State Workforce Agency Job Order
Recruitment Report
Recruiter Documents - This is any contract signed with a foreign recruiter and/or the recruiter/agency’s information.
Form G-28 - If the application packet is filed by an attorney, a G-28 must be included with the packet.
One last thing…send two copies of ALL of this.
Once your application packet is received, and “accepted for processing” there is a form I-797c mailed. This document does not mean that your application has been Approved, but only that it is now in processing. You can then use your EAC or WAC number to view the current status of your case here. Which is where we will pick back up on Wednesday for our sixth and final installment of this H-2B Visa Employer Series.
As always, if you find this information helpful but have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Williams Law at info@trentwilliamslaw.com. And mention this Series for a discounted consultation rate.
Pro Tip: Use FedEx and UPS overnight or one-day shipping. This is too important and time is of the essence. Pay the extra money to get your H-2B visa application packet to the proper address as quickly as possible. You have come too far to hurt your approval chances by trying to save a couple of dollars.
*Some documents provided via links may be outdated and readers should always check to make sure they they use the current edition.
