L-1B Specialized Knowledge Visas Denied at Higher Rate than Previous Years

USA Today has cited a recent brief by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). The brief notes increases in the denial rates of L-1B specialized knowledge transferee petitions. The USA today report also includes commentary from groups both in favor of and against higher levels of legal immigration. that the number of L-1B petitions filed has increased in recent years. Earlier this month, USCIS responded to a Freedom of Information Act Request filed by a representative of the American Immigration Lawyers Association by releasing statistics on the number of L-1B petitions filed, approved, and denied in FY 2012 and 2013.

L-1B visas are available in unlimited numbers to employees of international companies who have been employed at an overseas branch of the company for at least one year and are being transferred to the US to continue in a position which requires specialized knowledge. With very few options available for people with particularized knowledge or skill but no college degree, and with H-1B visas for college-educated employees limited to 65,000 per year, employers with overseas branches may be using the L-1B category to transfer in talented employees at a higher rate than in previous years. This underscores the need for additional H-1B numbers and for additional skilled worker visa classifications which our immigration system does not currently have.