Guide to Employer Employee Relationship for H1B RFE Petitions

Employer employee relationship, Employer employee relationship h1b, Employer employee relationship for H1B RFE, H1B RFE Petiton

What is Employer Employee Relationship?

A Company, Enterprise, or an Organization are employers and have involved employees who relate to one another. Employer employee relationship should be equally respectful, and the degree of closeness will depend on both the employer and the employee for maintaining the relationship.

The employment relationship can formally be referred to as mutual agreements for work rules. But the employer employee relationship is also an informal and endless practice that happens whenever an employer works with an employee. The employment relationship is a treaty, which expresses certain expectations about what managers and employees have to offer and are willing to deliver.

What is RFE in H1B?

RFE stands for “Request for evidence”. RFE in the H1B case is an inquiry request done by the USCIS when they require additional evidence to decide on an individual’s H1B case.

What is H1B?

The H1B is An Employment – based Visa classification for non-immigrants who are looking for temporary jobs till their time in the United States permits. This approved application is a work permit that allows you to obtain a visa stamp and work in the U.S for that employer.

H-1B Employer

According to a memo issued by the USCIS in 2010, a U.S employer is outlined as a firm, corporation, contractor, or other association, or organization which:

  • He/she engages a person to work in the country.
  • The person should have an employer-employee relationship with the person being hired.
  • The person should possess an IRS Tax Identification number

An employer who looks to sponsor a momentary worker in an H-1B specialty occupation, then the person is required to set up a valid employer-employee relationship.  USCIS has defined such a connection to be a turning point on an employer’s right to control the way and manner in which the work is going to be performed.

Employer Employee Relationship H1B RFE

A clearly defined hierarchy between the H1B employer and H1B employee. This constitutes daily involvement of tasks, sharing work, tools and resources, and many such things from the employer supervisor the employee worker. This link is referred to as a strong employer employee relationship H1B RFE petitions.

The employer-employee relationship H1B RFE sums up the legal link between Employers and Employee, it is also known as the Employment Relationship. It comes into existence when a person performs work or services under specific conditions in return for remuneration.

This relationship, however, defines, that reciprocal rights and obligations are developed between the employer and the employee. It has always been a medium through which employees gain access to the right and benefits related to employment in the areas of labor law and social security.

H-1B RFE Employer-Employee Relationship Key Factors

Few key factors the USCIS asks for when judging an H-1B RFE employer-employee relationship.

  • Direct supervision should be maintained – Whether the H1B employer directly supervises the H1B employees.
  • To check whether the work and supervision are on the job site or at a different location.
  • Third-party placement employer is not qualified.
  • A clear hierarchy should be observed between the supervisor and the worker.
  • On-site or off-site supervision; If at any time there should be off-site supervision, then how does the employer maintains oversight should be evaluated (i.e. phone calls, visits, reports, etc.); the amount of off-site monitoring is also accounted for.
  • Whether the H1B employer has control of the H1B employee – Whether or not the employer provides the work, daily tasks, and tools or resources that are required to complete the job and duties of the organization.
  • What are all employee benefits in place?
  • How is the final product compared to the H-1B employees’ duties and responsibilities?

YOU MAY LIKE TO READ:

Criteria For Consulting Companies who Sponsor H1B visa

Everything You Need to Know: H1B Extension, Visa Processing Time and Fees


Beneficiary Qualifications for H1B Petition

To qualify for an H1B visa position, one must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, and the applicants must have a relevant degree for the post. For the applicants who obtained their degree overseas, an H1B RFE may request proof of a foreign degree equivalent. The necessarily required documentation includes the Official school documents. H1B petitions may need to clarify how their degree is closely related to their job. Letters and references from previous employers may help in proving an applicant’s qualification for a particular position. A mixture of education and experience may sometimes be used to document the beneficiary’s eligibility.

Valid H1B Employer-Employee Relationship

An authentic employer-employee relationship H1B RFE would typically be the one in which there are daily activities of involvement, and also a clear hierarchy should exist between the supervisor and worker.

For example, the beneficiary attends work every day in a facility that is rented/owned by the employer and also has daily contact with the supervisor. The employer provides the worker with everyday tasks, feedback, resources and the equipment required to complete the job. The employer can also offer benefits like medical insurance and tax claims. The supervisor has the right to manage the worker’s schedule, duties, and even the right to fire them.

However, even if the USCIS considers the above criteria as an ideal employee-employer relationship, it does not mean that the Employment relationship is not valid if working rules are not precisely matching the above example.

Non-Valid H-1B RFE Employer-Employee Relationship

Third-party placement (Job Shop) – It has always been evident by the USCIS that third-party placements or job shops (employers who try to avoid the rules by replacing workers on subcontracted jobs) do not qualify as an employer-employee relationship. The foundation of the USCIS’s definition for a valid employer-employee relationship is possible on the employer’s ability to control and supervise the work performed.

Examples of documents that serve as evidence for H-1B RFE employer-employee relationship are:

  • Itinerary of all the services provided to the employee with names, dates, and addresses.
  • Copies of the official employment agreement form signed by the beneficiary and petitioner.
  • Distinct details about the duties/responsibilities of the worker.
  • A copy of the original work schedule is required.
  • Replicas of work orders, contracts, official documents, etc.
  • Copy of the organisational chart including supervisor hierarchy
  • Performance review system.

A merger of these documents may be necessary to address H-1B RFE employer-employee relationship concerns for the USCIS.

Maintenance of Status

A change of status or extension must be appropriately documented to maintain H1B employer’s current state. Adequate documents must be provided to prove their current status. This can be done by submitting pay statements, employment history, etc. For F-1 students, an H1B RFE may request class attendance or coursework history to prove that the applicants were in school before they applied H1B.

To request for an extension of status or change of state, the sponsored worker must document that he or she has adequately maintained the standard of current status. So for H-1B extension, this would generally include pay statements. For students who are currently in the F-1 status, more information of them is often requested in an RFE regarding coursework, OPT or CPT employment, class attendance, and overall discipline.

Approximately 90% of H-1B RFEs will describe to one or more of the six problems/issues discussed above, and so it is always recommended to be aware of these common issues before filing satisfactory documentation can often be submitted with the petition to avoid an RFE.

As you know, the H1B visa request for evidence can be very frustrating for a lot of people as you have to need to submit info and wait for USCIS. It can get tensed easily for the Employer as well as the Employee. Here are some of the most common reasons H1B RFE:

Here are some of the H1B visa Requirements:

  1. Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE)
  2. Specialty Occupation
  3. Needs of the Petitioner for the services of the beneficiary
  4. Beneficiary Qualifications
  5. Employer-Employee relationship
  6. Maintenance of status

Employer-Employee Relationship – Violation or Not?

Commonly, in situations where the sponsored worker will work off-sites, the USCIS will look at several factors to determine whether a genuine employer-employee relationship exists. Later seeing whether or not there is a legitimate employer-employee relationship for H1-B petition adjudication, The USCIS must decide if the employer has sufficient control over the employee.

The Applicant can be requested to deliver his documents to establish that it has the right to control over when, where, and how the beneficiary performs the job. This problem is prominent with businesses in the consulting or staffing industries. Including the right to control, an employer in the consulting/Staffing field must also provide project-related documents to confirm that the particular occupation work is available at the off-site location.


ALSO READ:

H1B Visa Extension beyond 6 Years – H1B Renewal Process

H1B Visa Application Processing – Premium and Regular Processing Time


As mentioned earlier, the relationship between the Employer and the Employee has to be reliable. The stronger the relationship, the higher the employee satisfaction, which results in the benefit of an organization by increasing its efficiency and productivity. To collect these benefits, one needs to be mindful of the Employer-Employee relationship in H-1B`. Also, there are some tips to nurture and enhance this relationship, which are:

  • A balance in the link: The Employer-Employee Relationship should be mutual and respectful. Since it is the employer who brings the employee into the organization, it becomes the employee’s priorities to make the employer comfortable and happy while at work. An employer’s helpful attitude will lead to employee satisfaction, which will sprout fruitful results for the benefit of the organization.
  • Interdependency: When we talk about an Employer-Employee relationship, we need to realize that there should be reciprocated interdependency between the two. One needs to depend on others for the smooth execution of work. This involves the completion and delivery of assignments on time and also undertaking other initiatives in Employers absence. Likewise, an employee will expect his employer to help him in his executions and make himself accessible whenever it’s needed.
  • Social approach: Apart from the corporate relationship between the two, there should, however, be space between them wherein they can be friendly and social. The bond should be candid enough so that besides being colleagues, they also feel the wave of friendship at work.
  • Liberty to communicate: An Employee should be allowed the liberty to communicate freely in the organization. If at all, an employee fails to deliver with their Employers, then it creates a gap of information and ill-will, Which later generates a feeling of being unimportant in an employee. Therefore, ensure the comfort level of your employee.