Immigration law practitioners have been receiving Requests for Evidence (RFEs) on most L-1B (Intracompany Transferee-Specialized Knowledge) petitions for new issuance as well as L-1B renewals. These RFEs, requiring burdensome responses, in fact may misinterpret the term “specialized knowledge.”

  • In March, 2015 USCIS, in an effort to clarify adjudication standards, issued a draft L-1B Adjudication Policy

Many businesses sponsoring H-1B specialty occupation worker or L-1 intra-company transfer petitions have experienced the frustration of unfair denials.  Now, Information published in the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsmen Annual Report 2014 (“Report”) confirms that appeals from these determinations are almost always an exercise in futility.

Cases that are not approved can be appealed to

Many multinational companies with global operations use L-1 visas to facilitate the transfer of their executives, managers and specialized knowledge personnel into the U.S. for temporary assignments. In the last couple of years, these companies have experienced extreme backlogs, denials and inconsistent challenges by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and Consular Offices.

The U.S. Chamber