AAO Requires Amended H-1B Petition for Change in Work Location When New LCA Necessary

On April 9, 2015, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), which is responsible for the review of certain decisions rendered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), issued a published decision in the Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, 26 I&N Dec. 542 (AAO 2015), holding that:

1. A change in the place of employment of a beneficiary to a geographical area requiring a corresponding Labor Condition Application (“LCA) to be certified with respect to that beneficiary may affect eligibility for H-1B status; it is therefore a material change for purposes of the immigration regulations.
2. When there is a material change in the terms and conditions of employment, the petitioner must file an amended or new H−1B petition with the corresponding LCA.

In Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, the petitioner had obtained an H-1B approval of a petition, in which it identified an address in Long Beach, California (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area) as the beneficiary’s place of employment. The petitioner stated that the beneficiary would provide services for a specific client and emphasized that “[the beneficiary] is and will continue to work from [the petitioner’s] Long Beach office.” The petitioner did not request other worksites and did not submit an itinerary.

Read more details about this decision for job location changes on our Immigration Blog.