BLOOMBERG NEWS ON THE NEW USCIS NURSE H-1B MEMO

Bloomberg News BNA has published a detailed analysis of several recent H-1B visa developments, including the new USCIS Nurse H-1B Memorandum.  Several attorneys, including MU Law’s Chris Musillo, were interviewed for the article.  Bloomberg has allowed MU Law to publish a copy of the article.

The article discusses increasing H-1B denial rates in spite of the fact that no new H-1B regulations have been published by USCIS in years.  One reason for the increasing denial rates have been stricter USCIS interpretations of “specialty occupation,” based on faulty reliance of the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook. 

Chris’ comments highlight the USCIS over-reliance on the Occupational Outlook Handbook when adjudicating H-1Bs for Registered Nurses.  Chris points out that while most nursing positions do not require Bachelor Degrees, some do.  Since some require a Bachelor’s degree the USCIS ought to look at an employer’s actual positional requirement instead of limiting review to the industry standards listed in the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

The Bloomberg article also discusses some recent court decisions and USCIS interpretations in light of these decisions.  

NOTE – the Bloomberg article is reproduced with permission from Daily Labor Report, Copyright 2014 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033)  <http://www.bna.com>

Bloomberg H-1B Article.pdf