Employers using the H-1B category are very familiar with the attestations required in the DOL’s Form 9035, “Labor Condition Attestation.” The DOS has created its own set of attestations for employees applying for an H-1B visa in Hyderabad, India. Given the information solicited, the attestations are primarily aimed at IT consulting company operations. Structured as a sworn statement, the document asks the visa applicant (referred to as the “deponent”) to acknowledge certain facts.
First, the attestation requires acknowledgement that the visa applicant has read and understood the Wilberforce pamphlet, a document that is part of the U.S. government’s effort to fight human trafficking and labor abuses. The pamphlet is required reading for visa applicants in the H-1B, H-1B1, H-2A, H-2B, J-1, and B-1 domestic employee categories, among others.
Second, the attestation seeks an array of facts surrounding H-1B employment involving off-site work, including the identity of the end client for whom the work is to be performed, and the role of the H-1B petitioner versus the end client with regard to day-to-day management, the provision of tools and equipment, hiring and firing authority, tax withholding, and benefits. Although the existence of an employer-employee relationship between the petitioner and the individual who will work at a third-party client site is adjudicated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the petition stage, the U.S. Consulate General now engages in its own review by requiring H-1B visa applicants to explain not only their job duties, but also the greater context within which they will perform those duties. It is, therefore, important to ensure that H-1B applicants are prepared to fully respond to comprehensive Consular questioning.
