Visas & Advice Detail
American visa trends
Immigration attorney Anthony Olson identifies changing patterns in the American visas Brits are being granted
According to the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics for 2008, the top five employment visas that Brits use to come to the US are: L-1 transfer visa (52,687), H-1B specialist visa (19,209), E-2 investor visa or E-1 trader visa (17,919), O-1 extraordinary ability visa (12,653), and P-1 athlete and entertainment performer visa (5,820). This order of ranking has remained the same for the past five years, but there are some trends within these rankings; other trends are identifiable when the visa usage of different countries is compared.
One very striking trend is the steady decrease in use of the H-1B specialist visa. In 2004, there were 32,134 British H-1B visa holders, which decreased to 30,755 in 2005, 28,002 in 2006, 25,507 in 2007, and 19,209 in 2008. There are a couple of possible explanations for this trend. Above all, for the period 2006-2008 the downward trend could perhaps be explained by the US economy's descent into recession. The recession began earlier in Florida, where many America-based Brits live, and that is why the identifiable trend could start as early as 2006. The large drop, of over 6,298 H-1B visas in 2008, coincides with the US economy's steepest descent into recession, particularly for many Brits working in the financial sector in New York.
The number of H-1B visas in 2009 will probably drop even lower, given that this year the total number of petitions for H-1B visas to be issued for 1 October 2009, is down considerably from past years. In 2007, USCIS received 119,193 petitions and, in 2008, it received 131,800 petitions to fill the annual 65,000 H-1B cap. In both of those years, USCIS had to conduct a lottery in order to determine which cases would be processed. In 2009, USCIS has so far received only a total of 44,000 H-1B petitions.
In contrast, there has been a steady increase in the use of the O-1 extraordinary ability visa. In 2004, there were 6,308 British applicants granted O-1 visas, which increased to 8,778 in 2005, 9,955 in 2006, 11,561 in 2007, and 12,563 in 2008. One possible explanation for the increasing use of the O-1 visa is the five-year and longer backlogs in the employment-based immigration quota system for those applying in the EB-3 professional and skilled worker category. The employment-based permanent residence category for the O-1 visa, which is the EB-1 category, has not been backlogged, and so applicants have been able to immigrate in this category in as little as two years. This trend is likely to continue because the employment-based green card backlog in the EB-3 category is becoming worse.
One other interesting trend is in the Brits' heavy use of the L-1 transfer visa instead of the E-2 investor visa and E-1 trader visa compared to similar developed countries. In 2008, there were approximately 52,687 Brits granted L-1 visas, but only 17,919 Brits with E-2 and E-1 visas. In 2008, there were 32,170 Germans with E-2 and E-1 visas, but only 23,338 Germans with L-1 visas. In 2008, there were 85,175 Japanese with E-2 and E-1 visas, but only 37,507 Japanese with L-1 visas. Of all US consulates, Tokyo, London, and Frankfurt process the highest volume of E-2 and E-1 visa cases. I think that these statistics make it clear that the US Embassy in London's restrictive policies toward Brits applying for the E-2 investor visa is the primary explanation for the great disparity between the number of British E-2 visa holders compared to the other two highest-volume E-2 visa using countries. The Brits have turned to the L-1 visa because the consulate has less discretionary decision-making authority to deny the visa application, and the consulate cannot deny the applicant an L-1 visa for suspicion of immigrant intent, which the London consulate commonly does with the E-2 visa applicants. This trend will continue until there is a change in attitude at the US consulate in London.
All of the above-mentioned trends will probably continue because the circumstances, which have most likely caused them, have not changed.
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