The U.S. Department of State (DOS) and Mission China have announced changes to consolidate the processing of employment-based H and L visa applications in China for foreign nationals seeking to work in the United States. Effective March 1, 2019, interviews for H and L visa applicants will be conducted only at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Consulates in Guangzhou and Shanghai. These services will be discontinued at the Chengdu and Shenyang consular locations.
DOS stated that these changes are being made due to the volume and complexity of H and L visa cases and in an effort to ensure that the agency has the proper resources and expertise to properly and efficiently process H and L visa applications.
Typically, for foreign nationals outside of the U.S. – with some exceptions – obtaining an employment-based visa consists of two phases: (1) obtaining approval for a particular visa classification from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); then (2) obtaining the actual visa stamp in the applicant’s passport, which allows them to enter/exit the U.S., following a successful visa interview at a U.S. Embassy/Consulate abroad, which is under the jurisdiction of DOS – an entirely different agency from USCIS with its own internal rules.
DOS makes this announcement of processing changes during a time when the adjudication of immigration benefits is subject to unprecedented levels of scrutiny by USCIS. Point in fact, in 2017, 74% of all H-1B petitions were approved, down from 87% in the prior year and 83% the year before that, marking it as the lowest approval rate in at least a decade. Curiously, in citing a need to have adequate resources and expertise in place to handle H and L visa applications, DOS is raising the plausible inference that there is some refocus on visa application processing policies internally by the agency as it signals that it is likely substantively reviewing H and L visa cases that have already been approved by USCIS (DOS has the authority to review petition approvals for continued eligibility for the given visa classification).
Such trends toward stricter reviews of applications for immigration benefits now, more than ever, merit the need to engage savvy and experienced immigration counsel at early stages to help ensure a successful outcome. It has become increasingly necessary for employment-based visa applicants to be well-versed in the substantive contents of their underlying visa petitions and to be able to accurately and concisely communicate important points to the consular officer.