Worker Visas and Green Cards: What are the Acceptance Rates in the US?
Image credit: Global Residence Index
As discussed in our previous post, we will continue to examine the acceptance rates for various economic visa and immigrant categories in the US this week. Borderless Counsel frequently assists clients with applications for permanent and temporary work visas in the United States. The brief report below aims to capture the recent rates of visa application approvals, and their distribution across continents and countries. We focus in particular on the worker visas most frequently sought after by our clients: the non-immigrant L1-A, L1-B and H-1B visas; and the immigrant/green card EB-1, EB-3, and EB-5 visas. All data was extracted from the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Statistics. As we will discuss in this article, there is a trend towards a high percentage of temporary work visa approvals in the US, while the transition to permanent status is completed successfully for a lower proportion of applicants. This may reflect the difficulty of obtaining permanent residency status in the US for many workers and business people, though the US is still an inviting place for those who wish to temporarily work and do business there.
L/Intracompany transferee visas
L-1A Visa: for intracompany transferees who work in managerial or executive position in a company that is located outside the US
L-1B Visa: for intracompany transferees who work in positions requiring specialized knowledge
H-1B (Person in Specialty Occupation) Visa: For individuals who are working on their area of specialization in the US, including fashion models, inter-governmental collaborators on research and development projects, and members of collaboration organized by the Department of Defense
EB-1 Visa (Permanent Resident Visa): “First Preference Employment-Based Visa”: for applicants with extraordinary ability or international recognition in their field, and who wish to continue to pursue work or research in those field in the US
EB-3 Visas (Permanent Resident Visa): “Third Preference Employment-Based Visa”: for skilled workers (minimum of 2 years training or experience), professionals, or unskilled laborers who intend to work in their field in the US
EB-5 Visas (Permanent Resident Visa): “Immigrant Investor Program”: allows investors, their spouses and their unmarried children under 21 to apply for permanent residence in the US (a Green Card)
Trends from past years:
The US Department of State’s percentage approval rate for L-1 visas was overwhelmingly favorable (94.2%) in 2021. The trend indicates that foreigners wishing to stay in the US on a temporary visa should feel fairly confident about the outcome of their temporary stay application when they apply with a clear employment pathway (either as a senior transferee or generally knowledgeable company transferee) as a grounds for their visa application. The growth of the percentage approval rate for L-1 visas over the past 5 years, especially over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, should lend to applicants further confidence in US immigration’s intention to welcome Intracompany Transferee Temporary Workers.
In a similar vein, the percentage acceptance rate for H-1B visas in the past fiscal year was overwhelmingly high (92.9%). Applicants for Temporary Visas who wish to enter the US on the basis of their high level of specialization in their area of craft and/or expertise should also hold a reasonable degree of confidence in their outcome of their application. The trend affirms US immigration’s interest in welcoming temporary visitors with determined and in-demand employment pathways.
Applicants should also note however that the increase of issued H-1B visas grew significantly with the onset of Covid-19, likely as a way to compensate for the drastic reduction in the total number of H-1B applicants. Therefore, temporary visa applicants who meet the requisite Specialty Occupation requirements should be prepared for the availability of the H-1B visa to decrease in coming years as the number of applicants increases again and raises the requisite standard of specialization for the visa.
Permanent Worker Visas
The number of EB-3 visas approved over the past 5 years has grown significantly even over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. The trend demonstrates that the US Department of State is increasingly open to granting Green Cards to workers with more general skillsets (on the proviso that they meet all other criteria for the visa such as a minimum of 2 years of training/experience).
Applicants for a US Green Card without pre-existing employment contracts or agreements with employers based in the US should therefore maintain their confidence in the outcome of their applications. Applicants should keep in mind however that processing times for Green Cards (usually 1-3 years) are considerably longer than for Temporary Visas – US immigration is more likely to use waiting time as a limitation on approval percentages on a yearly basis rather than the refusal of visa applications outright. For this reason, applying for any Green Card and especially the popular EB-3 visa should come with serious consideration about the investment of intent and planning over prolonged periods of uncertainty, despite the general openness of US immigration to Permanent Worker Visas globally.
Both the number of EB-1 visas and EB-5 visas issued has decreased over the last 5 years. In addition, the number of Permanent Visa issuances for applicants with extraordinary ability, international recognition and for immigrant investors pales to the total number of EB-3 visas issued. Applicants for visas in more competitive or niche Green Card categories should therefore be mindful of US immigration’s increasing preference for more generally skilled workers or the increasingly harsher limitations US immigration places on Green Card applications requiring extraordinary ability or capital investment.
For further information, updates or consultations on which categories above may be best for you, get in touch with us today at info@borderlesscounsel.com!