Success in responding to an H-1B RFE questioning the beneficiary’s Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

We assisted a client company, who develops its own software products and provides related consulting services in filing an H-1B petition to employ a software developer. An RFE was issued requesting additional information regarding the employer, and additional documentation to show that the beneficiary was engaged in a valid curricular practical training (CPT) and was maintaining a full course study in a master’s degree program at a U.S. university at the time of filing. The RFE noted that the evidence submitted showed that the beneficiary lived and was doing the CPT several hundred miles from the university. We first provided requested additional information regarding the employer. We then provided further evidence that the master’s degree program offered both online and hybrid courses and did not require students to live within commuting distance of the university, that the CPT was an integral part of the academic program, and that the beneficiary had been in valid F-1 status. We supported the response with ample corroborating evidence, including documentation from both the university and the petitioner regarding beneficiary’s status. The petition was approved shortly after the response was filed.

Status: The petition was approved shortly after the response was filed.