January 27, 2012 - U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) released a Q&A regarding the Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE), which is used in adjudication of employment-based immigration petitions to confirm information regarding companies.  This information includes type of business; financial information; number of employees; relationships with other entities, including foreign affiliates; type of office; type of legal entity; company executives; date of establishment; and current physical address.  Currently, USCIS uses Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) as the independent information provider for the VIBE program.  USCIS uses VIBE for most employment-based petitions, including Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, and it indicates that use of VIBE will not change USCIS processing time goals.

While USCIS states it will not deny a petition based on information from VIBE, it will issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) if derogatory or contradictory information is found in VIBE that is material to the petition and is not outweighed by evidence submitted with the petition.  USCIS does not require a petitioner’s information to be available through D&B in order to file a petition with USCIS.  However, USCIS states it may review additional publicly available information if the petitioner’s information is not included in the D&B database.  While a petitioner may update its record with D&B, it should not use that as a substitute for responding to an RFE or a NOID.  Moreover, USCIS advises that a petitioner must still submit evidence of ability to pay with an I-140 petition.  

BAL Comment:  Any U.S.-based privately held company or organization may update and view its D&B record for free through D&B’s iUpdate for U.S. government customers found at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.  It is recommended that companies review their information to ensure accuracy.  BAL has received VIBE RFEs in the past where the information from the D&B database was clearly erroneous and/or outdated.  Please contact your BAL representative for assistance in viewing and updating company information.

- Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP