Under its Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) program, through a data partnership with Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), USCIS verifies “business existence” for each US employer who files a petition for a foreign-national employee.
If data on the employer is unavailable in D&B, or does not match data in the employer’s petition, USCIS sends the employer a Request for Evidence, asking for additional documentation of the company’s business existence, which delays approval of the petition. Although a single employer is not supposed to receive a VIBE Request for Evidence more than once, immigration practitioners have found that this standard is not 100% consistent.
USCIS and D&B have now announced a streamlined process for proactively updating a company’s business data before a petition is filed. This could prevent delays and additional legal fees associated with a Request for Evidence (although responding to a VIBE RFE is generally routine). Employers may wish to avail themselves of this opportunity.