Guidance on When to File an Amended or New H-1B Petition After Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC

On April 9, 2015, the precedent decision Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, 26 I&N Dec. 542 (AAO 2015) (Simeio) was issued. This decision represents the USCIS position that H-1B petitioners are required to file an amended or new petition before placing an H-1B employee at a new place of employment not covered by an existing, approved H-1B petition.

Except as provided below in the Simeio compliance section, a petitioner must file an amended or new H-1B petition if: the H-1B employee is changing his or her place of employment to a geographical area requiring a corresponding LCA to be certified to USCIS, even if a new LCA is already certified by the U.S. Department of Labor and posted at the new work location.

Once a petitioner properly files the amended or new H-1B petition, the H-1B employee can immediately begin to work at the new place of employment, provided the requirements of section 214(n) of the INA are otherwise satisfied. The petitioner does not have to wait for a final decision on the amended or new petition for the H-1B employee to start work at the new place of employment.

On May 21, 2015, USCIS issued draft guidance on this topic and solicited public comment regarding the implementation of Simeio. After reviewing and carefully considering the feedback submitted, USCIS is now issuing 2015-0721, Simeio Solutions Transition Guidance Memo. This PM-602-0120 is effective immediately. Please note, while this final guidance responds to many of the comments received, some suggestions and inquiries were outside the scope of Simeio and, therefore, are not addressed in this document. USCIS will consider addressing those remaining questions, as necessary, in the near future.