VIBE Questions and Answers

A1. VIBE is a web-based tool that uses commercially available data to validate basic information about companies or organizations petitioning to employ certain aliens and to validate the basic information about the companies or organizations listed on the Form I-485 Supplement J. A main goal of VIBE is to equip USCIS Officers with information from an independent source that they can use to help determine petitioners’ or applicants’ eligibility.

A2. VIBE includes most employment-based petitions filed by companies and organizations and also validates the bona fides of the employer when certain employment-based applicants file for lawful permanent resident status, including:

• Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.
• Form I-140, Immigration Petition for Alien Worker.
• Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er) or Special Immigrant.
• Form I-485 Supplement J,  Confirmation of Bona Fide Job Offer or Request for Job Portability Under INA Section 204(j)

  See uscis.gov/vibe for a complete list of immigrant and nonimmigrant classifications included in VIBE.

  At this time, VIBE is not used for the following employment-based petition classifications due to their unique eligibility requirements:

• CW-1, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-only transitional worker
• E-2C, long-term foreign investors in the CNMI
• E11, individuals of extraordinary ability
• E21, national interest waiver
• EB-5, immigrant investor
• O, individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement (including essential support personnel)
• P, internationally recognized athletes and entertainment groups, performers under a reciprocal exchange program, and artists or entertainers under a culturally unique program (including essential support personnel)

A3. VIBE provides USCIS officers with information on the employer’s  business operations, including information related to:

• Business activities, such as type of business (North American Industry Classification System code), trade payment information, and status (active or inactive)
• Financial standing, including sales volume and credit standing
• Number of employees, both on-site and globally
• Relationships with other entities, including foreign affiliates
• Type of office (Examples include single entities, branches, subsidiaries and headquarters)
• Type of legal entity (For example, LLC, partnership or corporation)
• Company executives
• Date of establishment as a business entity
• Current physical address

A4. No. VIBE is an additional tool for USCIS officers to use in the overall adjudicative process. USCIS will not deny a petition or an application solely based upon information from VIBE. USCIS 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 benefit requested and is not outweighed by evidence submitted with the petition or application. USCIS will make a final decision based on the totality of the circumstances.

A5. The RFE or NOID will clearly state that the employer information has been checked in VIBE, and will describe the relevant derogatory or contradictory information found.

A6. No.  However, you may choose to contact D&B to update the record to prevent any future applications or petitions from receiving a similar RFE or NOID for the VIBE-related issue in question.

You must respond to USCIS with the information requested in the RFE or NOID regardless of whether you choose to update your record with D&B.

A7. Yes. You must respond to USCIS with the requested additional information after receiving an RFE or a NOID. Updating your company’s record with D&B is not a substitute for responding to USCIS’ RFE or NOID. If you do not respond to the RFE or NOID directly to USCIS, we may deny your petition or application. 

A8. No. There are no additional fees associated with VIBE. You must still comply with all other fee requirements for the requested classification. Visit uscis.gov/fees for information about current fees.

A9. No. VIBE does not require you to file additional documentation. However, it is critical that you accurately provide your business name and address on the USCIS form. This helps USCIS match information from the form with information received through VIBE. If you list an attorney’s or representative’s address in the form’s Petitioner Information section or Employer Information section, USCIS may issue you an RFE.

A10. Yes. You must continue to submit evidence with a Form I-140 to demonstrate the organization’s ability to pay the proffered wage from the time the priority date was established until the beneficiary obtains lawful permanent resident status.

Although VIBE helps USCIS Officers by independently validating an employer’s business operations, the information provided to USCIS through VIBE is not a substitute for the required evidence of ability to pay specified in the regulations.

A11. The use of VIBE will not change USCIS’s overall processing-time goals as long as no relevant derogatory or contradictory information is found. If derogatory or contradictory information is found, you may experience prolonged processing due to the time required to complete the RFE, NOID or administrative inquiry. On the other hand, the use of VIBE may allow USCIS to resolve inconsistencies in the record, potentially reducing the need to issue RFEs.

USCIS’s goal for VIBE is to gradually reduce processing times for most employment-based petitions.

A12. As of December 2011, a U.S.-based privately held company or organization may view, at no cost, the basic elements contained in its D&B report by using D&B’s new Update for US government customers.

Contacting D&B from this link will allow U.S.-based privately held USCIS petitioners and other U.S. government customers to create, update and view their company’s or organization’s D&B record without being subjected to direct marketing from D&B.

When using this process for government customers, D&B must verify the user’s personal identity and affiliation with the selected company or organization. Update for U.S. government customers users will be asked a series of short challenge questions, based on geographical and demographic data, to authenticate and establish an ID and password. Only those with access to your established ID and password will be able to access your business’ or organization’s information.

For additional information of how D&B collects, manages, shares and protects information, please review its privacy policy at dnb.com/US/home/privacy_policy/index.html.

To maintain accuracy of significant business information, D&B requires certain change requests to be verified by a third party prior to entry into the D&B system. If verification cannot be confirmed, the change request will be denied. This policy exists to protect companies and organizations from possible identity theft and fraud.

D&B’s iUpdate for U.S. government customers is not available to U.S.-based publicly traded companies, government entities or foreign companies. Such entities wishing to create, update or view their report with D&B may use dnb.com. Organizations accessing dnb.com may be subjected to direct marketing from D&B.

A13. No. There is no fee for a company or organization to create a record with D&B, view the basic elements in the D&B report or update its information with D&B. USCIS does not require an employer to purchase products or services from D&B in order to ensure its information is accurate, nor does USCIS require the employer to pay any fee to expedite the creation of a new record or for the updating of an existing record with D&B. Moreover, the use of D&B as an IIP for VIBE is not in any way an endorsement of D&B or its services.

A14. USCIS does not require employers’ information to be available through D&B when they file with USCIS.

D&B has developed a 9-digit identification sequence, known as the D-U-N-S® Number, that provides a unique identifier of single business entities while linking corporate family structures together. You may request a D-U-N-S® Number from D&B if you find that the firm does not yet have any information about your company or organization. However, USCIS does not require employers to have a D-U-N-S® Number or include a D-U-N-S® Number when filing with USCIS.

It is important to note that USCIS will not automatically issue an RFE or NOID if an employer’s information is not included in the D&B database. As part of the adjudication, USCIS will also review information found in the evidence submitted with the petition or application and, if needed, additional publicly available information (such as the relevant Office of the Secretary of State’s business registrations). USCIS will make a final decision based on the totality of the circumstances.

A U.S.-based privately held company or organization may contact D&B to request a D-U-N-S® Number by using D&B’s iUpdate for US government customers. U.S.-based publicly traded companies, government entities and foreign entities may contact D&B via dnb.com.

For more information about the D-U-N-S® Number, visit dnb.com.

A15. D&B generally completes its verification process within 2 to 7 business days, upon which the updated information is included in the customer’s record. D&B generally fulfills requests for new D-U-N-S® Numbers within 30 days. You may contact D&B for more information.

A16. No. By contacting D&B through this link, certain USCIS customers and other U.S. government customers will be able to create, update and view the basic elements of their company’s or organization’s D&B report without being subjected to direct marketing from D&B.

A17. Yes. USCIS wants to ensure that the public is aware that D&B representatives may suggest that you purchase products and services from them if you contact D&B through dnb.com. However, USCIS does not endorse D&B or its products or services, and does not in any way suggest that you purchase products or services from D&B in order to ensure your information is complete. Additionally, USCIS does not in any way suggest that you pay any fee to expedite the creation of a new record or to update an existing record.