ARTICLE
26 August 2015

USCIS Ombudsman Confirms That Employers Face Significant And Unfair Hurdles In Getting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Petitions Approved

The U.S. immigration services (USCIS) Ombudman's report to Congress for 2015 confirms what many employers and their representatives already knew...
United States Immigration

The U.S. immigration services (USCIS) Ombudman's report to Congress for 2015 confirms what many employers and their representatives already knew – we continue to face high rates of requests for evidence (RFEs) and denials of high-skilled nonimmigrant petitions, and a very low chance of success challenging such denials in administrative appeals.

Some interesting facts and figures from the report include:

  • Nearly 25% of H-1B petitions receive an RFE.  The California Service Center's RFE rates were higher than that of the Vermont Service Center.  RFEs challenging whether the H-1B position was a specialty occupation were found to be unduly restrictive.
  • More than 40% of all L-1A peititons for multi-national managers and executives received an RFE, and nearly 50% of L-1B petitions for specialized knowledge employees were RFE'd.
  • While the denial rate of 4% for H-1Bs is relatively low, the denial rates of 19% for L-1As and 29% for L-1Bs are fairly significant.
  • Fewer than 10% of appeals on denials of employment-based petitions are successful, which discourages employers from taking on the trouble and expense of filing an appeal.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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