Matter of Simeio: When a New Worksite Needs an H-1B Amendment

Your staffing firm calls on a Thursday. The project in Dallas is wrapping up, and the client wants you in Austin starting Monday. Same employer, same title, same pay. Does anything actually need to happen before you pack the car?

A lot of consultants assume the answer is no, as long as the paycheck keeps coming and the job duties stay the same. That assumption does not survive contact with a 2015 decision from the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office that reshaped how H-1B worksite moves are handled industry-wide.

That case is Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, 26 I&N Dec. 542 (AAO 2015), and if you work for a staffing or consulting firm that rotates you across client sites, you need to understand exactly what it requires and when.

What Matter of Simeio Solutions Actually Decided

Before 2015, many employers treated a worksite move as an internal HR matter as long as the H-1B worker stayed with the same petitioner and job. The AAO rejected that view in Simeio. It held that moving an H-1B worker to a new place of employment that requires a new Labor Condition Application is a material change in the terms of employment under the H-1B regulations.

A material change means the original petition no longer accurately describes the job as approved. When that happens, the employer must file an amended or new H-1B petition reflecting the new worksite, supported by a newly certified LCA for that location. A phone call to your recruiter, an internal transfer memo, or a client-side badge swap does not satisfy this requirement.

Following the decision, USCIS issued implementation guidance in 2015, including a limited transition window for employers who had already made undisclosed moves before the decision was published. That transition period has long since closed, but the underlying rule from Simeio remains the governing standard today.

The Material Change Standard: What Counts as a New Worksite

The trigger is not simply crossing a city line. It is whether the new location falls outside the area of intended employment certified on the existing LCA.

The Department of Labor defines the area of intended employment as the geographic area within normal commuting distance of the worksite, which in practice often aligns with a single metropolitan statistical area but is not rigidly defined by MSA boundaries alone. DOL looks at actual commuting patterns in that region.

• Moving to a different client site within the same metro area and normal commuting distance generally does not require a new LCA or amendment, though the employer should confirm the certified wage level still meets the prevailing wage for that specific worksite.
• Moving to a city or region outside that commuting area is a new place of employment. This is the scenario Simeio addresses directly.
• A change in job duties alone, without a location change, is evaluated under separate material change principles and is not the focus of Simeio.

The Short-Term Placement Exception, and Its Limits

DOL regulations at 20 CFR 655.735 give employers a narrow window to place an H-1B worker at a worksite outside the certified area without first obtaining a new LCA. This is the short-term placement provision, and it is where a lot of bench-and-deploy staffing models try to live.

The general allowance is up to 30 workdays in a calendar year at any one short-term location. That can extend to 60 workdays if specific conditions are met, including that the worker maintains an actual residence at the permanent worksite, continues incurring expenses there, and spends more workdays at the permanent site than at the short-term location during the year.

Short-term placement does not eliminate the employer's underlying LCA and wage obligations. It simply avoids the need for a brand-new LCA for a genuinely temporary assignment. Once the day count for a given location is exceeded, or once it becomes clear the placement is not truly short-term, the employer needs a certified LCA for that site and, per Simeio, an amended petition.

If your firm rotates you between client sites frequently, keep your own log of workdays by location and calendar year. Staffing coordinators managing dozens of consultants do not always catch an individual worker creeping past the 30 or 60 day threshold.

Timing: Filing the Amendment Relative to the Move

This is the part that creates real risk if handled casually. USCIS guidance implementing Simeio requires that when an amendment is needed, it must be filed before the H-1B worker begins work at the new location.

The sequence an employer should follow looks like this:

1. Confirm the new worksite falls outside the current LCA's area of intended employment and does not qualify as short-term placement.
2. Determine the prevailing wage for the new location and prepare a new Labor Condition Application, ETA Form 9035.
3. Post the required notice of the LCA at the new worksite for the mandated period, generally ten business days, before or promptly after filing with DOL.
4. Submit the LCA to the Department of Labor and obtain certification.
5. File the amended H-1B petition, Form I-129 with the H Classification Supplement, supported by the newly certified LCA, before the worker reports to the new site.

Similar to the AC21 portability framework for new H-1B employers, the worker generally may begin work at the new location once the amended petition has been filed and remains pending, without waiting for approval. But filing after the move has already happened is not a cure. It is a compliance gap that can surface later during an extension, a site visit, or a PERM and I-140 filing when officers review the full history of worksites and LCAs.

A Practical Checklist Before You Relocate

Before any reassignment, ask your employer or staffing coordinator directly: is the new site within the current LCA's area of intended employment, and if not, has an amended petition with a new certified LCA already been filed. Keep the receipt notice. It is your evidence that the filing happened on time.

This article is general information about how Simeio and its implementing guidance work. It is not legal advice, and every case turns on specific facts. Confirm your own situation with a licensed immigration attorney before relying on any timeline here.

Why This Matters Beyond the Current Assignment

A worksite move handled incorrectly does not just risk the current placement. USCIS reviews H-1B history closely at extension time and again at the I-140 stage. A gap where you worked at an unauthorized location without a timely amendment can raise questions that slow down or jeopardize a green card case years later. Getting the LCA and amendment sequence right now protects the long game, not just this rotation.

If you are weighing a reassignment, an H-1B extension tied to a new client site, or you are simply unsure whether your current LCA still covers where you are actually working, the team at Josh Pros LLC is glad to walk through the mechanics with you. 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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