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IMMIGRATION MAY 15, 2026 | The Indian Eye 41

minimums, not to retroactively raise Evaluations point out that, structurally, on EB-2 classification. By acknowl- to qualify for H-1B classification as it
the bar to a U.S. JD alone. The friction the combination of a prior bachelor’s edging the updated EDGE language, meets the minimum of a bachelor’s
introduced by the revised EDGE lan- degree and a three-year LLB in India highlighting the LLB’s role as a first degree to qualify as a specialty occu-
guage should be addressed in the EB-2 is analogous to the U.S. pattern of an professional law degree in India and as pation. However, many Indian lawyers
analysis under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k), rath- undergraduate degree followed by a the gateway to bar admission, aligning with LLB degrees have also graduated
er than by rewriting the Department of JD, and that in both systems, the pro- job requirements with that foreign pro- with a Master of Laws (LLM) degree
Labor’s minimum qualifications after fessional law degree is the prerequi- fessional credential, and deliberately from a US law school.
the fact. site for bar admission. Even if USCIS building a record of at least five years An Indian lawyer with an LL.M
Petitioners have also increasingly adheres to EDGE’s bachelor’s-level of progressive post-baccalaureate ex- should be able to qualify under EB-2
grounded their arguments in the bach- characterization for level-equivalency perience within the framework of 8 by virtue of this degree as well as for
elor’s-plus-five-years prong of 8 C.F.R. purposes, these evaluations help show C.F.R. § 204.5(k), employers can con- H-1B classification. Our blog deals
§ 204.5(k)(3)(i)(B). If USCIS treats that the overall educational and pro- tinue to obtain I-140 approvals for In- more with the lawyer who is being
the Indian LLB as equivalent to a U.S. fessional pathway satisfies the EB-2 dian-trained attorneys despite this new sponsored by a US employer with only
bachelor’s degree, the path forward is advanced-degree standard when com- wave of RFEs. an Indian LLB degree and the pitfalls
to demonstrate that the beneficiary bined with the required progressive ex- Finally, employers petitioning for associated with its unfortunate down-
has at least five years of progressive perience under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k). H-1B classification on behalf of Indian grade.
post-baccalaureate experience in the The bottom line is that the EDGE trained lawyers with an LLB degree
relevant legal specialty. “downgrade” of the Indian LLB has should also structure the job require- * Damira Zhanatova is an Associate at
Agency guidance interpreting that changed how many I-140s for Indi- ments as a minimum of a bachelor’s Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners PLLC.
provision indicates that experience an-trained lawyers are argued and re- degree rather than a JD degree. The
must show advancement in responsi- viewed, but it has not closed the door Indian trained lawyer should be able
bility and complexity, such as moving ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
from junior work to leading complex Cyrus D. Mehta, a graduate of Cambridge University and Columbia Law School, is the Managing Partner of Cyrus D. Mehta
matters, supervising other profession- & Partners PLLC in New York City. Mr. Mehta is a member of AILA’s Administrative Litigation Task Force; AILA’s EB-5 Com-
als, or managing key client relation- mittee; former chair of AILA’s Ethics Committee; special counsel on immigration matters to the Departmental Disciplinary
ships, rather than merely accumulating
time. Detailed letters of experience Committee, Appellate Division, First Department, New York; member of the ABA Commission on Immigration; board member
from prior employers, with concrete of Volunteers for Legal Services and board member of New York Immigration Coalition. Mr. Mehta is the former chair of the
descriptions of duties and progression, Board of Trustees of the American Immigration Council and former chair of the Committee on Immigration and Nationality
are therefore essential. Law of the New York City Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker and writer on various immigration-related issues, including
Many practitioners continue to use on ethics, and is also an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School, where he teaches a course entitled Immigration and
credential evaluations that synthesize Work. Mr. Mehta received the AILA 2018 Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for advancing the practice of immigration law
EDGE and other authorities to ex- and the AILA 2011 Michael Maggio Memorial Award for his outstanding efforts in providing pro bono representation in the
plain why an LLB pursued after a pri-
or bachelor’s degree should be under- immigration field. He has also received two AILA Presidential Commendations in 2010 and 2016. Mr. Mehta is ranked among
stood as a first professional degree in the most highly regarded lawyers in North America by Who’s Who Legal – Corporate Immigration Law 2019 and is also ranked
law in terms of structure and purpose. in Chambers USA and Chambers Global 2019 in immigration law, among other rankings.

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