There was a time, FY 2006, when 92% of all L-1B Specialized Knowledge visa petitions were approved.
In FY 2014, the L-1B approval rate is down to 65%.
A study published by the National Foundation for American Policy cites the chilling USCIS statistics as to the adjudication of L-1B applications over the course of time—material changes in the numbers are reported, with no regulatory change.
The L-1 visa status is for intra-company transferees, individuals who are being transferred from a company's affiliate, branch, subsidiary or parent overseas to the US to perform executive, managerial or "specialized knowledge" work in the US. The L-1A is for transferred executives or managers; the L-1B is for those with "specialized knowledge". The NFAP report focuses on L-1B visa petitions, but that does not mean that L-1A applications have not suffered from similar trends.
Based on data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the report's revelations include:
* USCIS L-1B denial rates are higher for specialized knowledge employees who are already in the US and seeking to extend their status (41% in FY14) than for initial L-1B petitions (32 %).
* The denial rate for Indian nationals was 56% for FY2012-14, as compared to Canadian nationals who were denied at a rate of only 4% during the same time period.
*The rate of issuance of Requests for Evidence (RFEs) in FY 2014 was 45%, as compared with only 2% in FY 2004.
As to the RFEs, AILA's Bob Deasy is quoted as follows: "What is most concerning is that RFE and denial templates and rationales are developed behind the scenes in a policy vacuum; moreover, hyper-exacting evidentiary and documentary demands made by USCIS undermine the principle of 'totality of the evidence' and the preponderance of the evidence standard."
The report concludes: "The significant increase in denial rates and requests for evidence in recent years illustrates that USCIS adjudicators have made it difficult for companies to transfer their own employees within a company to work in America. In a highly competitive global marketplace, the consequence is that companies become more likely to move out of the United States-or to invest in America in the first place-to avoid the difficulties of the U.S. immigration system."
Transfer with caution!
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