Work visa denials increase in the US new study shows

A new study shows that work visas for Indian-born professionals and researches have reached a high rate of denial over other foreign-born nationals in the past four years.

A non-partisan group, the National Foundation for American Policy analyzed data from The Department of homeland Security. They found that petitions to transfer employees with “specialized knowledge” or those designated as executives, managers and other professionals were denied at a rate of 27 percent in 2011. In 2007, only 7 percent of those petitions were denied.

In the past an immigration attorneys could more easily obtain work visas for professionals or people with special skills, but the current trend shows that it has been much more difficult.

In addition to the denials, the foundation discovered that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security requested additional information from visa applicants. In 2007, only 17 percent of applicants had to supply additional information as opposed to 63 percent in 2011.

The foundation also noticed that Indian-born visa applicants are denied visas at a higher rate than applicants from other countries. In one instance the refusal rate increased from 2.8 percent in 2008 to 22.5 percent in 2009.

Cynthia Williams, executive director of The American Immigration Lawyers Association told USA Today that the standard for approval of work visas has become increasingly unclear for applicants.

The Department of Homeland Security said they would have to look at the study in depth before commenting.

Despite this, any person hoping to work and legally reside in the U.S can still utilize the experience of an immigration attorney to get them the necessary visas.