Common grounds for L-1 visa refusal
- Specialized knowledge assessment. One of the most common and increasing reasons why an L1 visa is denied is down to the assessment of specialised knowledge.
- Managerial requirements. ...
- Salary standards. ...
- Business growth is not feasible. ...
- Documents submitted incorrectly. ...
- Lack of evidence. ...
Can an L-1 visa be denied?
Unless you can prove that the employee has specialized knowledge that no other American employee possesses, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will reject a request for an L-1 visa.
Why is the L-1 visa rejection rate so high?
Immigration lawyers have seen a recent rise in the L-1 rejection rate because employers aren’t proving that the employee in question has the necessary specialized knowledge that’s invaluable to the American branch of the company.
How to make your L-1 visa application stronger?
It’s a good idea to spend plenty of time training your employees to provide them with the specialized knowledge that they need before applying for an L-1 visa so they have the strongest application possible. 2. Not Enough Evidence
Why do visas get rejected?
One major reason why visas get rejected is from fear of the applicant staying longer than intended. So if you are planning a temporary visit, you need to convince the embassy or high commission that you have no reason for overstaying. Honesty is the key.
Do L-1 visas get rejected?
Specialized knowledge is one of the major grounds that many employment visas, including the L-1, are denied, especially recently under the Trump administration. The assessment standards for the U.S. work visa requirements are being raised to ensure that resident workers are favored over foreign job applicants.
What are the chances of L1A visa rejection?
L-1 Extension Denials are Increasing The L-1 visa applicants experience one of the highest rejection rates among all USCIS applications, and it has been a common issue for several years. In 2015, 24.9% of L-1B applicants received rejections, while the L-1 visa extension rejection rate for 2022 is 33.3%.
Is it difficult to get L1A visa?
The L1 to green card path is one of the best and easiest paths to permanent residency—it's especially painless if you hold an L1A visa. But just because it's one of the easier paths doesn't mean it isn't without any complexity or difficulty. Below we'll outline the basic information you need to know about this process.
Is US issuing L-1 visa now?
The L1 visa is temporary. It will initially be granted for a maximum of 3 years. To remain it the US beyond this point would require a further petition to be made, where the same processing time will apply as with the initial application. Alternatively, premium processing offers faster adjudication.
How often do L-1 visas get rejected?
L1B visa denials rise In Trump's first year as US President, the rejection rate rose to 26.9% in FY 2017, rising to 28% in FY 2018, surging to 34.4% in FY 2019 before falling slightly to 33% in 2020, according to the NFAP analysis.
What is the success rate of L1A visa?
Similarly, L-1 petition approval rates by the USCIS are at a low level of around 72% in 2019 compared to FY 2016's 85%.
Is L1A or H1B better?
H1B has stringent requirements while L1 Visa is more suitable for multinationals and is less time consuming than H1B visas. Also, L-1 and H-1B have ˜dual intent in that visa holders in both categories can aim for green card while staying as a nonimmigrant in the United States.
Is L1 visa interview difficult?
To gain entry to the United States on an L1 Visa, you must crack the visa interview first. It's not an easy task if you are not well prepared. To have a better chance of success, you must devote time to research the most common questions asked during the interview process.
How many L-1 visas are issued each year?
No Annual Limits On the other hand, there are no limits to how many L-1 visas are approved each year. This means that your petition will not be rejected due to the fact that there are no more available visas.
Can I apply for L1 visa now?
It should be filed at least 45 days before the employees start date and cannot be filed more than six months before employment begins. Submit the supporting documents evidencing that both the US company and the parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch office abroad are lawful.
Can L1 be converted to green card?
In order to go from an L-1 visa to a green card, you must apply for and get approved for any one of these immigrant visa classifications. Specifically, you'll need to get approved for an immigrant petition with the USCIS through Forms I-130 or I-140 and adjust status by filing a Form I-485.
Who is eligible for L1A visa?
The employee has been employed as an executive or manager for one continuous year in the three years preceding the filing of the petition; and. The intended U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition.
Is L1A or H1B better?
H1B has stringent requirements while L1 Visa is more suitable for multinationals and is less time consuming than H1B visas. Also, L-1 and H-1B have ˜dual intent in that visa holders in both categories can aim for green card while staying as a nonimmigrant in the United States.
Which visa is better L1A or L1B?
If you're a manager, executive, or business owner, an L1A visa can grant you a stay for as long as 7 years. If you're an employee with specialized skills and knowledge, an L1B visa grants you a stay for as long as 5 years.
How many L-1 visas are issued each year?
No Annual Limits On the other hand, there are no limits to how many L-1 visas are approved each year. This means that your petition will not be rejected due to the fact that there are no more available visas.
How many times can you apply for L-1 visa?
While L-1 visa holders are allowed to renew their status, the overall period of stay is a maximum of seven years for L-1A holders (L-1B holders can only stay for a maximum of five years. This is the three-year initial period plus every other added year in the extension request.
What happens if you don't fill out L1?
If the forms are not filled in properly, they contain false or incorrect information about the applicant the visa will be denied without a doubt. For more information about the l1 application process click here.
What to do as an L1 sponsoring employer?
As an l1 visa sponsoring employer you need to come up with a great plan for how the business will impact the economy of the United States. With the arrival of your company, you will influence the opening of new jobs and positions and that will cause a positive impact on the labor market. but it is not enough just to have a perfect plan. The data that will be displayed must correspond to reality, not to present false business growth.
How long do you have to work to get a L1?
Before you apply for l1, you must have been continuously working for the company for at least 1 year in the last 3 years. The employment must be full-time.
What is a visa?
It is a travel document, permit for entry, residence, or transit of a foreign citizen in the territory of the country issuing the visa. One of the main reasons for issuing a visa is to regulate illegal migration and bring the country’s security to a higher level. The visa can be issued in two forms. In the form of a stamp or sticker that is affixed to the passport or in the form of a document that is shown when entering the country. Depending on the purpose of the trip, it can be determined what type of permit you need to apply for. There are several types of visas:
Why are L-1 visas denied?
The assessment standards for the U.S. work visa requirements are being raised to ensure that resident workers are favored over foreign job applicants.
What to do if you get denied a L-1 visa?
under that same company. Always be sure to work very closely with a qualified immigration attorney after an L-1 denial in order to determine your options and to ensure that you are making the correct legal decisions.
What is an L-1 visa?
The L-1 is a nonimmigrant visa that allows multinational companies to send managers, executives, and employees with specialized knowledge to an office or affiliate in the U.S. It comes with a host of benefits such as dual intent, no annual limit, and no educational requirements. On top of that, an employer can file an L-1 blanket petition for multiple employees at once rather than file each one individually. It also allows these workers to travel to the U.S. to establish a new office or branch in the country.
What is a business plan for L-1 visa?
As an L-1 visa sponsoring employer, your business plan is one of the things the USCIS will scrutinize to make a decision on the petition. This is why it is recommended to have a flawless L-1 business plan. That said, having a plan won’t just be enough, the details in the plan must correspond with the present reality of the business. For instance, if there are exaggerated business growth projections that do not reflect the standards in your industry, this may stand as a red flag.
How long does it take to appeal a denial of a USCIS application?
District Court directly. Appealing to the AAO often takes at least six months and generally results in an affirmation of the previous denial by the USCIS.
How long do you have to work to get a L-1 visa?
In fact, the only major requirement is that the beneficiary needs to have worked for the company for at least one full year in the three years that precede the petition filing. However, despite all of these benefits, the L-1 is not the easiest work visa to obtain. This is because the USCIS is becoming stricter with who qualifies as a manager, executive, or employee with specialized knowledge.
What happens if you don't include supporting evidence in your L-1 application?
If you fail to include an important document or give incorrect information at any stage of your visa application, that may lead to your L-1 visa denial. Some errors you will need to carefully avoid include entering an incorrect job title or job descriptions, using an inappropriate delivery method, or sending your visa application to the wrong address.
Unable to Confirm Expert Knowledge or Managerial Duties
If you cannot prove that a worker has expert knowledge possessed by no other US worker, USCIS will reject your L-1B visa application. It’s smart to train your staff members to give them the expert knowledge they require prior to requesting an L-1 visa to increase their chance of approval.
Insufficient Proof
In 2015, the government published a note delineating what USCIS officers should pay attention to when evaluating L-1 visa applications, in particular the fact that there must be sufficient proof that a certain worker satisfies qualification requirements.
Political Factors
Though USCIS officers are required to make their decisions based solely on a case’s merits, governmental oppositionists argue that politics have affected the L-1 visa evaluation procedure.
What Are Your Options When Your L-1 Visa Request Is Denied?
Considering the denial rates for L-1 visa requests along with the current political environment, you must accept the chance that your request could fail.
Get Help with L-1 Visa Requests from an Immigration Lawyer
If you want to apply for or have just been denied an L-1 visa, speak with a skilled immigration attorney in Fairfax VA who focuses on work-related concerns. Being approved for entry into America on a short-term basis alone is a complex and often aggravating ordeal.
US L1B visa denial rates continue to remain high, even without Donald Trump as US President, according to a report published by Forbes. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is reportedly denying a significant number of L1B visas, much to the frustration of employers looking to transfer overseas staff with specialist knowledge to the US
According to the Forbes report, as well as causing frustration for employers, continued L1B visa rejections are also discouraging foreign investment.
L1B visa denials rise
Meanwhile, for the 2021 Fiscal Year, the denial rate for L1B petitions to transfer overseas employees with specialized knowledge to the US was 26.2%.
USCIS policy guidance
On April 27, 2021 USCIS announced that it was ‘issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual instructing officers to give deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension requests involving the same parties and facts unless there was a material error, material change, or new material facts’.
USCIS response
In response to the continuing high refusal rate of L1B petitions, USCIS issued the following statement: “USCIS officers review each L1B petition on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable laws, regulations and policies.
Requests for Evidence
The Forbes report claims that it’s not only L1B denials affecting employers, but ‘time-consuming and costly Requests for Evidence (RFEs)’, too.
Workpermit.com can help with US employment-based visas
If you would like to apply for a US work visa – including L1 visas , E2 visas , O1 visas and H1B visas - Workpermit.com can help.
Why is my visa disapproved?
Another reason why your visa is most likely to get disapproved is because of questionable financial records. As an applicant, you need to prove that you have the financial wherewithal to support your trip. This will include your income and bank statements.
Why are visas denied?
The truth is that there’s no one major reason why visa applications get denied. Approval or denial of applications is based on many different factors. Immigration officers consider a whole bunch of things before deciding whether to approve or not.
What is a travel visa and why is it needed?
A visa is a certificate issued or stamp-marked by the embassy or high commission of a country in a traveller’s passport or travelling document to indicate that the applicant has been granted permission to travel to a particular country for a specific period just as stated on the visa. A Schengen visa, for example, allows you to travel to any of the Schengen countries as well as the other non-Schengen countries that allow travellers to enter their countries with a Schengen visa.
Why do embassies ask for an interview?
Lack of confidence during the interview. During the application process, most embassies will request applicants to visit their office physically for an interview. The reason for the interview is to support further your reasons for visiting their country. It is considered as a reason for you to have your visa denied.
How to appeal a visa refusal?
One thing to know is that if your visa gets denied, the application fee is non-refundable. If your application for a permit to stay or enter a country is refused, the applicant will get a notification stating the reasons for refusal.
What happens if your passport is refused?
This means that if your passport gets stamp-marked “visa refused”, it discredits your passport for future visa applications. You are denied your visa application and, not only that, but you also lose your visa application fee, which is non-refundable.
How long does it take to reapply for a rejected visa?
For example, you can reapply for a refused US visa application after 3 business days while there is no wait time for a refused Schengen visa application. Just remember to make the necessary changes to make your application stronger so that you have a better chance of getting your application accepted.
Why are visas rejected?
Overall, most visa applications are rejected because people fail to follow the guidelines. In fact, most of the other visa rejection reasons are a result of not following the rules.
What happens if you have blank columns on your visa application?
An application form with blank columns will make your application get rejected. Every column in the application form is an important question. Even if a question is not applicable to you, you will be advised by the form to write ‘N/A’ or something appropriate. Providing wrong information on the application form are also grounds for visa rejection. As a result, check your application form before submitting them.
What happens if you get a fake visa?
Providing fake and forged documents will lead to an automatic visa rejection. Once you have made an application, the visa authorities will perform a thorough check to ensure your document’s validity. If it is found that the document is fake, they will reject the application and possibly ban you from applying again for a specific time.
How much travel insurance is needed for a Schengen visa?
Eg: A Schengen travel insurance will require coverage of at least 30000 Euros, be valid in all the Schengen nations, as well as cover the entire stay duration. If your Schengen travel insurance does not meet this, you will not be issued with the visa.
What is the role of a visa interview?
This can include being nervous during the interview, provide unnecessary details, not being able to communicate effectively with the interviewer, etc. As a result, ensure that you are well prepared for the interview to be able to answer any of the questions without any hesitation.
What is a business visa?
Visas are issued for a particular purpose of visit. For example, a business visa is issued for attending business meetings, conferences, etc. As a result, failing to provide documents or information that explain your purpose of the visit will lead to visa rejection. In the case above, for the business visa, you will have to ensure that the invitation letter from the company in the destination country explains your purpose of the visit clearly.
How many Euros do you need to stay in a country?
Eg: If a nation expects you to have at least 50 Euros for each day you stay, and if you are planning a stay of 30 days, your application will get rejected if you do not have at least 1500 Euros. It can also be rejected if you submit a credit card or other forms instead of an account statement.
