Anti-India bias evident in US crackdown on L-1B visas
WASHINGTON: A new report based on US immigration data has found a record spike in denial of visas for intra-company transfers to work in the US in recent years, with Indians hit the hardest.
A “remarkable” 56% of applications for L-1B from India were rejected between 2012 and 2014, the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) said in a report released on Tuesday.
L-1 visa allows US employers to transfer employees from foreign operations to work in America — L-1A is for managers, and L-1B is for those with “specialised knowledge”.
Indian Chinese
Mexican French British German Japanese Canadian
25,296 1,570
740 753 2,577 1,100 1,145 10,682
56% 22%
21% 19% 16% 15% 15% 4%
*As a proportion of total number of applications in 2012-14
The number of rejections of L-1B applications has been rising — from just 6% in 2006 to 30% in 2012, 34% in 2013 and a historic high of 35% in 2014, the report said.
The foundation said it obtained these numbers, with a countrywise break up for the first time, under Freedom of Information Act, the US version of India’s Right to Information Act.
Indian companies, especially in the IT sector, have been flagging their concerns, but while the Indian government has been sympathetic, their efforts at lobbying with the US government have had little or no impact.
Many Americans believe companies use L-1s and H-1B visas (for highly skilled foreign workers) to bring cheaper workers, from India and other countries, to displace locals.