On March 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the launch of a “Known Employer” pilot to assess a new process for preselected employers seeking to hire certain workers through employment-based visa categories.
The goals of the “Known Employer” pilot are to make the employment eligibility adjudication process more efficient while reducing delays for U.S. employers that wish to employ foreign workers under certain immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs by:
- Reducing the amount of paperwork filed by employers and retained by USCIS;
- Promoting consistency in the adjudication of employment-based petitions and
- Streamlining the adjudicative process to achieve greater efficiency within
USCIS; and - Providing greater support to CBP and DOS in support of greater efficiency and
consistency at ports of entry and consular posts.
applications;
DHS first announced in January 2015 that it would explore a Known Employer pilot under the United States-Canada Beyond the Border initiative. The pilot also was highlighted as a recommendation in a report from federal agencies submitted to the President in July 2015, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century. USCIS has already selected the employers who will participate in the pilot program
The nine preselected employers, will file applications requesting that USCIS predetermine that they meet certain requirements relating to certain immigrant and nonimmigrant visa classifications. When making this request, employers will create a profile in the Web-based Known Employer Document Library (KEDL), and upload documents relating to the requirements. USCIS officers will review and predetermine whether a prospective employer has met certain requirements relating to the visa classifications, and if USCIS approves the employer’s predetermination request, the employer may then file petitions or applications for individual employees without needing to resubmit company information with each petition or application.
USCIS is not selecting any additional employers for the pilot program at this time.
When the pilot program is completed, DHS will plan to publicly announce the results and, if the project is successful, seek to institute a permanent program open to all eligible employers.
To date, only the following employment based immigrant and nonimmigrant classifications have been included:
- EB-1 Outstanding Professor or Researcher
- EB-1 Multinational Executive or Manager
- H-1B Specialty Occupation Worker
- L-1A Intracompany Transferee in a Managerial or Executive Capacity
- L-1B Intracompany Transferee in a position involving Specialized Knowledge
- TN Canadian and Mexican citizens engaged in business activities at a professional level under the NAFTA treaty
Employers will not be charged any additional fees to participate in the Known Employer pilot. The pilot is scheduled to last for up to one year; however, USCIS may terminate or extend the pilot at any time. DHS and DOS will solicit ongoing feedback from the participants.
For more information, including a list of preselected participating employers, see the Known Employer pilot page.
NOTE:
For general information on employment based visa categories, please see our website.
