Atlanta, GA, Wednesday, February 15, 2012 -
The National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) just
issued a policy brief analyzing the government's data which reveals that USCIS,
our immigration agency, dramatically increased the denial rate of L-1 and H-1B
petitions over the past four years, harming the competitiveness of U.S.
employers and encouraging companies to keep more jobs and resources outside the
United States.
"This report is
alarming and confirms what us immigration law practitioners have experienced in
the past few years. It proves that USCIS adjudicators have artificially and
arbitrarily increased the number of denials and time-consuming requests for
additional evidence from employers, keeping more highly skilled professional
workers outside the United States despite no change in law or regulations", said
Karen Weinstock, an Atlanta Immigration
Attorney and managing attorney of the Immigration Law Firm Siskind
Susser.
"The visa that received the most scrutiny by USCIS is the
L-1B visa used by international companies to bring their specialized knowledge
workers. In FY 2011 63 percent of all L-1B petitions received a Request for
Evidence and 27 percent were issued a denial, which means USCIS denied or
delayed between 63 percent to 90 percent of all L-1B petitions during that time.
Compared with only a 7 percent denial rate in FY2007, and only a 2 percent cases
where USCIS requested additional evidence in FY2004, combined with the fact
that employers now are much more selective about who they sponsor for this visa,
this is a deliberate effort of USCIS to limit the use of this visa and it directly
hurts international businesses because it is costing them millions in project
delays and penalties" added the immigration lawyer.
The report stated that denial rates for H-1B petitions
increased from 11 percent in FY 2007 to 29 percent in FY 2009, and remained
higher than in the past for H-1Bs at 21 percent in FY 2010 and 17 percent in FY
2011. For H-1B petitions, the Request for Evidence rate rose from 4 percent in
FY 2004, to 18 percent by FY 2007, to a high of 35 percent in FY 2009. In FY
2011, the rate for request for additional evidence for H-1B petitions was 26
percent.
"It is alarming that almost a third of the H-1B visa cases
are significantly delayed or denied by USCIS and employers are burdened with
significant costs to respond to them and delay their projects. There is no
logical reason why companies that are now more selective in hiring professional
workers should face such advanced scrutiny where there is now more than twice
the chance the application will be denied compared to prior years", explained
the Georgia immigration attorney.
The L-1A visa is used by international companies to transfer
managers and executives into the United States. Denial rates for L-1A petitions
increased from 8 percent in FY 2007 to 14 percent in FY 2011. The Request for
Evidence rate for L-1A petitions increased from 4 percent in FY 2004, to 24
percent in FY 2007, up to 51 percent in FY 2011.
"The fact that during the most recent fiscal year, USCIS
arbitrarily increased the denial rate or delay rate to half of the cases filed
in this category of international managers or executives is outrageous. These
are people we want to welcome to this country because they work for
multinational corporations that make significant investments in the United
States. They will not continue to do that if they will not be able to transfer
their managers or executives from abroad to oversee expansion and similar
projects", added the immigration lawyer in Atlanta.
The denial rates also increased for O-1A petitions, which
are used for people with an extraordinary ability, who are in the top of their
fields in the sciences, education, business, or athletics. Denials for O-1A
petitions rose from 4 percent in FY 2008, to 10 percent just one year later in
FY 2009, increased again to 11 percent in FY 2010, and stood at 8 percent in FY
2011. For O-1A petitions, the Request for Evidence rate increased from 1
percent in FY 2004, to 13 percent in FY 2007, and then more than doubled to 28
percent in FY 2009, 30 percent in FY 2010, and 27 percent in FY 2011.
"This deliberate effort of USCIS to create additional
hurdles on the O-1 visa applicants, who are the best and brightest in the world
in what they do, is more than just bad for business. It is even worse for
extraordinary researchers and scientists who are supposed to help us find cure
to diseases or find the next new technology out there to solve many of our
problems. These are the people the United States needs to attract and welcome
with less hurdles, not more. Instead, the immigration agency is creating
additional barriers to their entering the country by artificially increasing
the heightened scrutiny and denial rates" stated the immigration attorney.
"The best thing the immigration service can do is to make
the process easier for all these professionals and companies because they are
the kind of people we want to attract here and they represent the interests of
billions of dollars in investments in this country. If USCIS wants to help
create jobs, it needs to remove barriers to entry of the best and brightest,
not create additional obstacles as it currently does", added the Atlanta
immigration lawyer and head of the Atlanta Immigration law firm Karen
Weinstock. "I think more employers now are willing to sue the government in
order to protect their rights. We have helped a number of them do that
successfully so there are options but they are more costly and difficult",
concluded the immigration attorney in the Atlanta area.
To read the NFAP report, go to: http://www.nfap.com/pdf/NFAP_Policy_Brief.USCIS_and_Denial_Rates_of_L1_and_H%201B_Petitions.February2012.pdf
Media Contact: Karen Weinstock
404-935-0056
Kweinstock (at) visalaw (dot) com
About Siskind Susser:
Siskind
Susser is one of the largest immigration law firms in North America and its Atlanta
Immigration attorneys, a
part of the Atlanta immigration law firm have experience handling
all aspects of American immigration and nationality law. Our Atlanta
immigration lawyers
provide consultations to corporations and individuals on immigration law issues
and represent clients before the U.S. government. We are committed to providing
quality and efficient service, and are one of the top ranking U.S. immigration
law firms.
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