Are you filing an I-140 petition based on an approved labor certification? Are you about to do so? If so, you of course would want to do everything you can to avoid a request for evidence (RFE) which can cause a processing delay, and cause additional stress for everyone involved. We have noticed that USCIS is now issuing RFEs on the letters of experience submitted to document the beneficiary's experience and/or special skills. USCIS is checking those letters carefully, and has issued RFEs on the following points:

1) If the letters are not on letterhead, they will request new letters on company letterhead.

2) If the dates of your employment do not exactly match the dates of employment as listed on the 9089, USCIS will issue an RFE to ask for clarification.

3) If the letter is from a company that is not listed on your 9089, USCIS may issue an RFE seeking clarification. For example, in some cases, an IT consultant, for example, may be an employee of Company A. The consultant is then placed at the client site of Company B, where he works as a consultant only, not an employee. If the consultant lists Company A on the work experience section of the 9089, but then obtains an experience letter from Company B, USCIS will likely issue an RFE asking for clarification. Often a letter from Company A explaining the situation must be obtained.

What should you do? The best practices to reduce the possibility of an RFE include:

1) Confirm at the labor certification stage that you can obtain the letters of experience that will be required at the I-140 stage.

2) Confirm the exact dates of employment at your previous employers at the labor certification stage. If you guess at the dates on the 9089 and then put the exact dates on the letters of experience, you will have to explain and document the difference later.

3) Use letters of experience that you already have on hand, whenever possible.

If you have questions on the best practices, please contact your labor certification team at Challa Law for clarification and assistance.

Foreign nationals must now provide a detailed breakdown of their salary and other taxable earnings to Indian immigration authorities when applying for new or renewed employment visas or completing local registration requirements when in India on an employment visa. The new requirement is already in force at immigration offices in Bangalore, Pune and Chennai and at numerous Indian consular posts abroad. The new requirement is not being consistently implemented in other locations at this time, but it is expected to be applied at all Indian consulates and registration offices in the near future. The salary breakdown is not required for holders of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) or Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status entering India for employment.

The requisite salary and earnings breakdowns must be presented in both Indian Rupees and the foreign national's home currency, and in monthly and annual figures. Foreign nationals should use the template form found here to submit the salary breakdown. Employers should avoid altering the format and language of this form, because it follows the government's guidelines for the requisite breakdowns.

This new requirement follows the introduction last year of a US$ 25,000 minimum salary for foreign workers in India. In requiring a detailed salary breakdown, India seeks to ensure that employers are counting only taxable payments towards the minimum salary amount and are not including non-taxable payments, such as allowances for housing, telephone, transport and entertainment, or other "monetized" salary components that are not directly paid to workers.

Minimum Salary for NGO Employees

Indian immigration authorities have confirmed that foreign nationals seeking to volunteer in India for a registered Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) are not subject to the general minimum salary requirement, even though they are required to obtain an employment visa. Indian authorities also confirmed that these individuals may receive up to INR 10,000 per month in salary and still be considered volunteers.