Allen County approves H‑1B legal services agreement and names board president as USCIS signatory

The Allen County Board of Commissioners on April 18 approved a flat‑fee legal services agreement with Lewis & Capps to handle an H‑1B petition for a prospective county employee and designated the board president as the county signatory on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services documents.

Nancy Stegmaier, human resources director, told the board the county has identified a prospective employee currently working for First Student who qualifies for H‑1B sponsorship and that Lewis & Capps would represent the county in the USCIS process. “Due to the difficulty of finding employees in certain specialized fields, we have…found a First Student employee on a Visa and now we are petitioning this employee to become a full time…Visa with us, for the next 3 years,” Stegmaier said.

Stegmaier described the eligibility criteria for H‑1B sponsorship, noting the candidate has the required bachelor’s degree and that the position is a specialty role that meets Department of Labor prevailing‑wage requirements. She said the county submitted the petition in January, the lottery ran in March, and the petition was approved, and that Lewis & Capps will “monitor and find status updates via the USCIS.” She also noted the H‑1B can be issued for up to three years and may be extended for an additional three years, after which the county could petition for permanent residency if the county and employee choose to proceed.

A motion to approve the legal services agreement and to designate the president of the Board of Commissioners as the county’s signatory for USCIS documents was made and seconded; the board voted in favor and the motion carried. The flat fee identified in the discussion was $4,000; Stegmaier said other USCIS filing fees exist and would be handled by the hiring department as needed.