President Obama making it easier to get L-1 work visa

On March 24, 2015, White House released a draft of L-1B Visa Policy Memorandum which will make it easier for the employers to get L-1 visa for its employees. The new policy completed its feedback period on May 8 and will become effective on August 31. read full memo 

The L-1 visa, also known as the intracompany transferee visa, is a nonimmigrant visa classification that allows companies to transfer employees from a related foreign entity to a U.S. company. Unlike H-1B visa, there is no quota on the number of visas issued in a year! Between 2009 and 2013, an average of 67,855 L-1 visas were issued per year. read more about L-1 visa 

In recent years, USCIS has issued an increasing number of requests for additional evidence ("RFE") and denials based on very narrow and restrictive interpretation of the L-1B statutes and rules.. According to the National Foundation for America Policy, there was a 35% denial rate(56% for Indian nationals) and a 45% RFE rate in 2014 for L-1B petitions . As a comparison, in FY 2006 there was a 6% denial rate and a 9% RFE rate. read full report 

The policy will supercede old restrictive memorandums, loosen up the legal standards to "preponderance of evidence "rather than "clear and convincing evidence" or the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard. As President Obama announced, the policy changes "could benefit hundreds of thousands of nonimmigrant workers and their employers; that, in turn, will benefit our entire economy and spur additional investment." 

U.S. employers are always looking for skilled workers, even in holiday seasons. Please polish your resume and update your career profiles regularly.