Marcus and Janelle,
I hope you both had a good start to the new year. I wanted to provide a consolidated mid-matter status update on the four PERM labor certification and EB-2 green card cases that Calderwood & Harkness is handling on behalf of Lumos Analytics Inc. Below is a summary organized by case grouping, followed by key timing considerations and action items.
**A. PERM Applications — Group 1 (Mehta & Varga)**
The following PERM applications were filed on December 18, 2023, and are currently pending at the DOL's Atlanta National Processing Center. Based on current processing trends, we anticipate certification in the mid-February 2024 timeframe (approximately 6–8 weeks from the filing date).
1. **Rajan Mehta** — VP, Engineering — Core Platform - PERM Case No.: A-23401-83756 - ETA Form 9089 filed: December 18, 2023 - SOC Code: 15-1252 (Software Developers) - Priority Date: December 18, 2023 - Offered Salary: $285,000/year (prevailing wage determination: $198,744, Level IV) - Status: Pending — Atlanta National Processing Center
2. **Lina Varga** — Senior Director, Data Science & ML - PERM Case No.: A-23401-83761 - ETA Form 9089 filed: December 18, 2023 - SOC Code: 15-2051 (Data Scientists) - Priority Date: December 18, 2023 - Offered Salary: $310,000/year (prevailing wage determination: $191,360, Level IV) - Status: Pending — Atlanta National Processing Center (same expected processing window as Mehta)
**B. PERM Applications — Group 2 (Aguilar-Reyes & Tanaka)**
The following PERM applications were filed on January 8, 2024, and are also pending at the Atlanta National Processing Center. We anticipate certification in the late February to early March 2024 timeframe.
1. **Tomás Aguilar-Reyes** — VP, Product — Fintech Solutions - PERM Case No.: A-24401-00214 - ETA Form 9089 filed: January 8, 2024 - SOC Code: 11-2021 (Marketing Managers) - Priority Date: January 8, 2024 - Offered Salary: $275,000/year (prevailing wage determination: $176,842, Level III) - Status: Pending — Atlanta National Processing Center
2. **Yumiko Tanaka** — Director, Information Security & Compliance - PERM Case No.: A-24401-00219 - ETA Form 9089 filed: January 8, 2024 - SOC Code: 15-1212 (Information Security Analysts) - Priority Date: January 8, 2024 - Offered Salary: $260,000/year (prevailing wage determination: $185,910, Level IV) - Status: Pending — Atlanta National Processing Center (same timeline estimate as Aguilar-Reyes)
**C. Recruitment Campaigns — Completed**
I am pleased to confirm that all four supervised recruitment campaigns have been completed and the mandatory 30-day quiet periods have concluded:
- **Mehta & Varga:** Recruitment commenced October 9, 2023; concluded November 20, 2023. - **Aguilar-Reyes & Tanaka:** Recruitment commenced October 23, 2023; concluded December 4, 2023.
All mandatory and additional recruitment steps were properly executed for each position, including:
- 30-day SWA job orders filed with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) via CalJOBS - Two Sunday print advertisements in *The Peninsula Gazette* (Mehta & Varga: October 15 and 22, 2023; Aguilar-Reyes & Tanaka: October 29 and November 5, 2023) - 10-consecutive-business-day internal postings at Lumos headquarters (2240 Embarcadero Way, Suite 600, Palo Alto, CA 94303) - Online professional journal advertisements in *FinTech Talent Weekly* (published by Creston Media Group, Inc.) - Campus placement postings through Baxter University Career Center - Employee referral program postings
Recruitment results reports have been finalized for all four positions. In each case, no qualified, willing, and available U.S. workers were identified. Recruitment advertising was coordinated through Broadgate Compliance Services LLC (Gerald Fitzmorris); all associated costs have been invoiced. We are maintaining complete audit files with supporting documentation in accordance with the DOL's 5-year retention requirements.
**D. Key Timing Concern — Aguilar-Reyes L-1A Status**
I want to flag one item that warrants advance planning. Tomás Aguilar-Reyes's L-1A nonimmigrant status expires on **July 30, 2024**. Based on current processing projections, we anticipate receiving his PERM certification and filing the I-140 petition well before that date, and the overall timeline should remain manageable.
However, I recommend that Lumos begin contingency planning in the event the PERM and/or I-140 timeline extends unexpectedly. Specifically, we should keep in reserve the option of filing a **cap-exempt H-1B petition** for Mr. Aguilar-Reyes to bridge any potential gap in work authorization. Colette and I can discuss the specifics of this contingency approach with you at your convenience.
For reference, the other three beneficiaries hold H-1B status valid through September 2025 or later, so there are no immediate status concerns for those individuals:
- Rajan Mehta: H-1B valid through September 14, 2025 - Lina Varga: H-1B valid through March 2, 2026 - Yumiko Tanaka: H-1B valid through November 18, 2025
**E. Action Items — Request for Updated Corporate Financial Documentation**
Upon PERM certification for each case, the next step will be filing **Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker**, with USCIS Texas Service Center under the **EB-2 (Advanced Degree Professional)** classification. We plan to file all four I-140 petitions with **Premium Processing** (Form I-907), which provides a 15-calendar-day adjudication window.
To support the ability-to-pay requirement in each I-140 petition, we will need the following updated corporate financial documentation from Lumos. I would appreciate it if you could begin assembling these materials at your earliest convenience:
- Lumos Analytics Inc. **FY 2023 annual report or audited financial statements** (alternatively, the federal tax return, Form 1120, for the same fiscal year) - Any additional evidence of financial health that the company wishes to include, such as updated revenue figures or bank statements
For context, the ability-to-pay analysis will need to demonstrate Lumos's capacity to pay all four offered salaries in the aggregate — $285,000 + $310,000 + $275,000 + $260,000 = **$1,130,000/year combined**. Given Lumos's FY 2023 revenue of approximately $87.4 million and a workforce of approximately 312 employees, we do not anticipate any difficulty meeting this standard, but strong documentary support will streamline adjudication.
Please also note that USCIS filing fees will be invoiced at cost upon I-140 filing: **$700 filing fee** + **$2,500 premium processing fee** per petition, for a total of **$3,200 per beneficiary** ($12,800 across all four cases).
**F. Next Steps Summary**
- Await PERM certifications (expected mid-February 2024 for Mehta & Varga; late February/early March 2024 for Aguilar-Reyes & Tanaka) - Upon certification, prepare and file I-140 petitions with premium processing at USCIS Texas Service Center - Draft employer support letters for CEO Priya Chandrasekaran's and VP People Operations Sonia Elliston's signature - Continue monitoring Aguilar-Reyes L-1A status timeline and prepare contingency filing if needed - After I-140 approvals, discuss next phase: adjustment of status (I-485) and/or consular processing, taking into account visa bulletin priority date currency for each beneficiary's country of chargeability
Please let me know if you have any questions on the above, or if you would like to schedule a call this week or next to discuss any of these matters in greater detail. I am happy to coordinate with Colette's calendar as well.
Best regards,
**Derek Okonkwo** Associate Calderwood & Harkness LLP 555 California Street, 32nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 T: (415) 553-8214 E: derek.okonkwo@calderwoodharkness.com
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