If you are a consultant headed to an end-client site under H-1B sponsorship, you have probably heard a version of this warning: get your paperwork in order or risk a Request for Evidence. That warning is not paranoia. Third-party placements draw more scrutiny than direct-hire H-1B roles, and the rules for what counts as sufficient proof have shifted more than once in the last several years.
This piece walks through what a petition for work at a client site typically contains today, how we got here, and exactly what to ask your employer or staffing firm to gather before you start billing hours.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your specific situation with a licensed immigration attorney before you rely on anything here.
What goes into a third-party placement petition today
A petition filed on Form I-129 with the H Classification Supplement for a consultant placed at an end client generally includes three categories of evidence.
- A statement of work or purchase order between the petitioning employer and the end client, or running through the vendor chain, that describes the project, the duration, and the specialty occupation duties involved.
- An end-client confirmation letter that corroborates the role described in the SOW: what the consultant will actually do, who supervises day-to-day work, and roughly how long the assignment is expected to last.
- Evidence of the petitioner's control over the work, meaning the employer, not the client, retains the right to hire, pay, supervise, discipline, and terminate the consultant, even though the client directs daily tasks on-site.
None of this is new in concept. What has changed is how much documentation USCIS expects, and how rigid the format needs to be.
The 2018 memo, its rescission, and where practice stands now
In February 2018, USCIS issued a policy memo instructing adjudicators to demand contracts and day-by-day itineraries covering the entire requested validity period for any H-1B worker placed at a third-party site. In practice, this meant petitions were often approved for far shorter periods than the standard three years, and RFEs asking for granular, date-by-date assignment schedules became routine across the staffing and consulting industry.
That memo was rescinded in June 2020, following the decision in ITServe Alliance v. Cissna, in which a federal court found USCIS's approach to third-party placement adjudications arbitrary and inconsistent with the governing regulations. After the rescission, USCIS reverted to evaluating petitions under the existing regulatory text at 8 CFR 214.2(h), without the blanket day-by-day itinerary mandate the 2018 memo had imposed. Adjudication still varied by service center, but the extreme documentation burden eased.
Most recently, the H-1B modernization final rule that took effect in January 2025 codified standards for the employer-employee relationship and for third-party placement evidence directly into the regulations, rather than leaving the subject to policy memos that can be rescinded with a change in administration. The rule describes the kinds of corroborating evidence USCIS may consider, including contracts, work orders, and statements of work between the petitioner and the end client. If you want the exact current regulatory language, check the rule text and any subsequent USCIS policy guidance on uscis.gov, since implementation details can be refined over time.
Why an itinerary still matters
The regulation requiring an itinerary of employment dates and locations for services performed in more than one place has not disappeared. What changed after 2020, and what the 2025 rule reinforces, is that USCIS is not supposed to require the kind of minute-by-minute daily schedule the 2018 memo demanded. A reasonable itinerary today typically lists the worksite address, the expected assignment period, and the general nature of the work at that location, updated when a consultant rolls onto a new project.
Evidence of control: what adjudicators are actually looking for
Because a third-party consultant takes direction from client managers day to day, USCIS wants to see that the petitioning employer still holds the legal relationship. Evidence that supports this includes:
- Who has the contractual right to assign, reassign, or remove the consultant from the project
- Who conducts performance reviews and has the authority to discipline or terminate
- Who sets and pays the consultant's wage, and who issues the paycheck
- Who provides the laptop, licenses, or equipment, where that is documented in the contract
- Whether the employer can place the consultant on another project if the current one ends
None of these factors alone is decisive. Adjudicators weigh them together, which is why a single confirmation letter rarely carries a petition on its own.
What to ask your employer to collect at project start
The best time to assemble documentation is the week the project is confirmed, not six weeks before an extension filing. Ask your employer or staffing coordinator to pull together the following.
| Document | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Fully executed SOW or purchase order | Establishes the project scope, duration, and specialty occupation duties |
| End-client confirmation or assignment letter | Corroborates the role and timeline independently of the staffing firm |
| Master services agreement, if a vendor sits between employer and client | Shows the full contractual chain and who holds supervisory authority at each link |
| Org chart or reporting line description | Clarifies who assigns and evaluates the consultant's work day to day |
| Updated LCA (Form ETA-9035) listing the correct worksite | The Labor Condition Application must reflect the actual physical worksite before work begins there |
| Itinerary of locations and dates | Satisfies the regulatory itinerary requirement without needing a daily log |
Keep copies of every version. When a project extends or a consultant rotates to a new client, the file needs to be updated, not recreated from memory at filing time.
A quick note on wages and bench time
Separate from documentation, two wage rules apply regardless of where a consultant sits. The employer must pay at least the required wage listed on the certified LCA for the specific worksite, and the employer must continue paying that wage during employer-caused non-productive time, such as a gap between client assignments. These are Department of Labor obligations, not optional practice, and they matter during any worksite documentation review.
If any of this sounds like more paperwork than your current project has generated, that is worth raising with your immigration team before your next extension or amendment filing, not after an RFE arrives.
The team at Josh Pros LLC works with consultants and employers on exactly this kind of documentation planning for H-1B, L-1, TN, and E-3 placements at client sites. If you want a second look at your project file before a filing deadline, reach out at contact@joshpros.com or visit https://joshpros.com.
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This is general information, not legal advice. Immigration rules change and outcomes depend on your individual circumstances. Confirm anything that affects your case with a licensed immigration attorney.
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