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.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has revised its procedures for seeking a consultation to be included in an O-1 or O-2 visa petition. Beginning March 17, 2014 a deal memo or contract with specific items must be included with all requests for a consultation. The deal memo or contract between the employer and O visa petition beneficiary must include:

In Patel v. USCIS, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Beneficiary of an I-140 (Employment-Based) visa petition had standing to sue under the Administrative Procedures Act. This decision is particularly interesting because the Petitioning Employer who filed the I-140 petition failed to obtain a labor certification for the Beneficiary before filing the I-140, which is a requirement for filing the I-140. Instead, the Petitioner included a Labor Certification obtained by a different employer for the Beneficiary several years ago with the I-140 petition. The Court appears to believe that the I-140 was approvable as filed and that USCIS was arbitrary and capricious in denying the I-140. It will be interesting to see what happens in this case!