Resume Problem for Labor Certification in EB2 with Master's Degree

[ArifSha]

Hello,

Situation: I did my bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from India, completed my Master's in Mechanical Engineering from the United States from Jan 2006 thru Dec 2008. Joined Company ABC as a trainee program, worked for 6 months on OPT and then got promoted as Industrial Engineer and have been working as an Industrial Engineer since 2.5 years. My Company applied for H1B as an Industrial Engineer. My H1B is about to expire in Jan 2013 and I know I can apply for my extension. But my Company is sponsoring my Green Card in EB2 Category as the job requires a Master's Degree. Everything sounds smooth. I dont talk to my Company's Lawyer, but through a HR Person at Corporate office as I work at a Plant. The thing she told me that the Lawyer has been having some issues with my resume that had my voluntary intern experience that i did in India for 6 months period.

Question: I told him I DONT want to list my VOLUNTARY INTERN as a professional experience. My question is why the Company's lawyer is telling me that they have issues with my prior experience in India? I dont understand as I already have a master's degree and 2.5 years of Company's experience. I get paid about 70K( where as my Prevailing wage could be little higher). So why the heck on the earth my Company lawyer is trying to use my old resume which had voluntary experience from India, even before i came to USA. I would really appreciate if someone could answer my question. Also, i think, for EB2, Master's qualification is good enough,if the job needs that.

Thanks

AS

[maverick41]

I agree, the voluntary intern position issue is a non-issue, especially if you don't want to list it in your resume. It looks like you have already met the eligibility criteria for one of the sub-categories for EB-2: "The job you apply for must require an advanced degree and you must possess such a degree or its equivalent"

Is your 2.5 years of experience with the same company? The only reason I can think of for the lawyers questions is probably the lawyer is trying to strengthen your case since the experience in the current company cannot be counted (most of the time).

[catx]

It could be that the company immigration lawyer is simply dealing with the facts, information, and documentation presented to him/her. S/he was given a copy of the your resume (on file with the company?) and is working from that document. Did you complete a questionnaire from the company lawyer that covered personal details, education, experience, etc. Completing such a questionnaire is common practice at the start of the H-1B and/or permanent residency process (in my experience). Also, I would ask HR if you could communicate directly with the lawyer, at least by e-mail. From the outset of joining my current employer, I have communicated directly with the company immigration attorney (copying the company immigration paralegal who is part of HR).

[Attorney_22]

Additionally, it may be that the minimum requirements for the position as stated by the employer include an experience component. Therefore, the attorney may be trying to analyze your prior experience. If you have not done so already, it may be helpful to ask the employer what the minimum requirements for the position will be on the Labor Certification.

[kishore122]

......"I get paid about 70K( where as my Prevailing wage could be little higher)".......

Is that not a Red Flag? As far as i know you should be paid more than the Prevailing Wage for the location you work at.

Read one of the Murthy Bulletins, i remember reading about a case where the applicant was given few cents less than the Prevailing Wage for the position he is holding.

[ArifSha]

Guys, thanks a lot for your comments/advice. All of your comments are true and exactly matching my case. I spoke to my company lawyer and he told me that it was actually mentioned in the ad that 1 year's experience is a must and that's why he was looking into my previous experience. But, now he will be using my "same company's" prior experience as I worked in a different department with mostly different job responsibilities and title. He told me that he would be filing my labor within next week, so am expected positive results. Thanks a lot for your comments. I will definitely get back to the forum to update and kinda make an SOP about what one should do/expect when the come across a situation like mine. Live Happy Forever! Bilal.

[ArifSha]

Thanks everyone for your help. You guys ROCK.

Bilal