USCIS Issues Policy Memorandum on “Same or Similar” Occupations and Job Portability
On March 18, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services finalized its policy on determining whether a new job is in the “same or similar” occupational classification with respect to job portability. The policy memorandum instructs USCIS employees on how to use the Department of Labor’s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes and other evidence to determine if a new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification as the original job offer in an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) submitted to USCIS.
The memo notes that such adjudications “require individualized assessments that consider the totality of the circumstances and are based on a preponderance of the evidence presented.” The memo states that SOC codes “provide some measure of objectivity in such assessments and thus can help address uncertainty in the portability determination process.” Although the memo focuses on how to interpret and apply SOC codes, it points out that nothing in the memo “is intended to make SOC codes or their descriptions the only factor or a mandatory factor in portability determinations or to otherwise limit USCIS’ flexibility to consider other relevant evidence.”
Despite those assurances, some commenters expressed concerns that the guidance could have the practical effect of leading to a rigid application of SOC codes to “same or similar” determinations. The USCIS memo is at: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2016/Final_Same_or_Similar_Policy_Final_Memorandum_3-18-16.pdf.
