Managing Partner Michael Wildes is pleased to announce the successful representation of a client in their H-1B AAO Appeal. The formal appeal of an H-1B visa petition is made to the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). April 2019.
In this particular instance, the foreign national held an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. He was offered the position of “Associate Product Manager”. We used a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 15-2031 – Operations Research Analysts.
USCIS denied the H visa petition stating that “Associate Product Manager” was not a specialty occupation because the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) does not establish that operations research analysts require a Bachelor’s in a specific specialty.
AAO reversed the USCIS denial and stated that the nature of the substantive duties of this particular position, as they would be performed within this petitioner’s particular operations, is so specialized and complex that the petition was correct to require the theoretical and practical application of at least a bachelor’s degree level, or the equivalent, of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a specific specialty directly related to the performance requirements of the position.
Wildes & Weinberg is a boutique law firm specializing exclusively in the practice of U.S. immigration and nationality law and was founded in 1960 by Senior Partner Leon Wildes, whose best-known accomplishment was his successful representation of John Lennon in his widely publicized deportation proceedings, the circumstances of which have inspired several films, books, and documentaries.
Today the firm, which has offices in New York City, Englewood, New Jersey, Miami, Florida, and by appointment in Los Angeles, California, services a distinguished domestic and international clientele and covers all areas of U.S. immigration law, including employment and investment-based immigration, work permits, permanent residence for qualified individuals, family-based immigration, asylum applications and all temporary and permanent type visas.
In addition to running a highly successful immigration law practice, Michael is also of counsel to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and other international/corporate law firms. A former Federal Prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn (1989-1993), Michael has testified on Capitol Hill in connection with anti-terrorism legislation, and is a frequent participant on professional panels and commentator on network television and radio with regard to US immigration law, employer sanction work and compliance.
Michael, the author of Safe Haven in America: Battles to Open the Golden Door, is also currently serving his third term as Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, was appointed to the District Appeals Board of the Selective Service System for the State of New Jersey, was a member of the New Jersey Governor’s Blue Panel on Immigration, and has been a guest lecturer at many distinguished forums and institutions including Yale University, New York University, Brooklyn Law School, and The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where Michael is an Adjunct Professor of Business Immigration Law.
Despite difficulties currently being encountered in dealing with U.S. immigration authorities, Wildes & Weinberg has maintained an extraordinary track record for success for its cases. Moreover, the firm’s multilingual staff is known for its experience and special expertise in processing each foreign national’s case with nothing less than the highest level of professionalism.
To learn more about Wildes & Weinberg, please contact Managing Partner Michael Wildes at michael@wildeslaw.com.