Guidance on H-1B Visas for Health Care Practitioners

A memorandum dated May 20, 2009 by Barbara Velarade provides some guidance to the USCIS Service Centers with respect to the standards for adjudicating H-1B petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries seeking employment in a health care specialty occupation.

Generally, the Velarde memorandum provides two kinds of guidance, one for beneficiaries with a license and one for beneficiaries who do not.  We will review each in turn.

Beneficiaries Who Have a License

According to the memorandum, when the USCIS adjudicator reviews H-1B application where the beneficiary has provided documentary evidence of his or her valid license to practice a health care occupation in the state in which the beneficiary will be employed, the adjudicator should not look beyond the license and should accept its validity on its face.

If the beneficiary has an unrestricted license the adjudicator should approve the petition for up to three years (or the maximum permissible depending on the LCA validity period and other circumstances).  The fact that a license has to be renewed periodically, for example, every year, should not prevent the adjudicator from issuing a 3-year H-1B visa.

On the other hand, if the beneficiary has restricted license, the adjudicator should approve the petition for one year only or the duration of the restricted license, whichever is longer.

Beneficiaries Who Do Not Have a License

Generally, in order to perform a health care occupation, the beneficiary must obtain a license from the state in which the beneficiary will be employed.  If the H-1B petition claims that the beneficiary cannot obtain a license due to the fact that the beneficiary needs to obtain a social security (SSN) card or a valid work authorization document, then the adjudicator is asked to determine the requirements for obtaining license and whether the beneficiary is qualified to perform the specialty occupation.  Additionally, the beneficiary will have to show that he or she (1) has filed an application for license and (2) cannot obtain a full unrestricted license due to the requriements of possessing a SSN card or valid immigration document in the form of a letter from the State Board.

Assuming the H-1B petition is approvable in accordance with the standards set forth in the memorandum, the validity period should be one year.   Subsequent requests for extension must include evidence that the beneficiary has been granted a valid unrestricted license to practice the health care occupation.  Failure to provide such evidence will result in the denial of the H-1B extension  petition.