March 14, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stuart Anderson 703-351-5042; info@nfap.net
New Research Explains L-1 Visas, Questions Recent Government Report
ARLINGTON, VA - New research from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), an Arlington, Va.-based public policy group, indicates L-1 visas are not being used to displace American workers or as a substitute for other work visas, and questions the methodology and recommendations of a recent report on L-1 visas by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG). Some lawmakers may attempt to use the OIG report to push for more restrictive legislation.
L visas have been around since 1970 to allow U.S. companies to transfer executives, managers and personnel with specialized knowledge from their overseas operations into the United States to work. To qualify, L-1 beneficiaries must have worked abroad for the employer for at least one continuous year (within a three-year period) prior to a petition being filed. It is not allowed for an employer to hire individuals overseas and send them immediately to work in the United States on L-1 visas. (A complete copy of Understanding L-1 Visas and the Recent OIG Report is available here
Among NFAP's findings in the report:
— Claims of widespread displacement appear to be exaggerated. The OIG report concluded, "While many of the claims that appear in the media about L-1 workers displacing American workers and testimony may have merit, they do not seem to represent a significant national trend."
— No evidence exists that L-1 visas are being widely used to circumvent restrictions on H-1B visas for skilled professionals. "L-1 visa issuance . . . has abated in recent years," notes the OIG report, with approved petitions declining by more than 20 percent between 2000 and 2005. "Another possible indication that L-1s are not widely used as alternatives to the H-1B is that in fiscal year 2004 the congressional numerical limit on H-1B status was significantly reduced, but no increase in L receipts or approvals was observed," according to the Office of Inspector General report.
— The Office of Inspector General failed to talk to any companies or their attorneys about adjudication of L-1 visas. If the OIG had done so, it would have found that companies are frustrated by denials of L-1 visa petitions for seemingly capricious reasons due to adjudicators' poor understanding of international business or technology. Jobs and an economic competitive edge are lost when international personnel cannot transfer into the United States.
To address incidents reported in the media in 2003 and 2004, Congress tightened restrictions on L-1 visas less than 16 months ago and called for an interagency task force to recommend any further measures that may be needed. "The best course would be to wait for that task force's work," said Stuart Anderson, NFAP's Executive Director, "with the caveat that members of task forces and commissions sometimes are known to feel a need to make recommendations to justify the body's existence and their time spent."
To balance concerns about fraud with allowing in individuals important to the competitiveness of U.S. companies, NFAP's analysis finds the best approach is improved training and developing greater expertise at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), such as by designating specific adjudicators to handle L-1 cases. "The solution to a possible lack of expertise in a government agency should never be enacting restrictive legislation more likely to punish legitimate users than anyone seriously intent on committing fraud," concludes the analysis.
Earlier this month, the National Foundation for American Policy released a paper called Setting the Record Straight: H-1B Professionals and Wages, which you can access here.
About the National Foundation for American Policy
Started in 2003, NFAP is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to public policy research on trade, immigration and other issues of national importance. Its Advisory Board members include economist Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia University); economist Richard Vedder (Ohio State University); former U.S. Rep. Guy Vander Jagt (MI); and others.