H-1B Employers Failed To Appeal H-1B Visa Denial In 98 Percent Cases In 2019

The Trump administration's restrictive immigration policies have led to a massive increase in the rejection of petitions for H-1B visas.

A study shows 24% uptick in high skill visa rejections under the administration of Trump.

The high rate of H-1B visa denials seems to be increasing under the Trump administration’s Hire American (BAHA) and Buy American policy, but a new study also shows a perturbing fact that employers challenge rejections only two per cent of the time.

Multinationals, visa applicants, employers, and attorneys have expressed discontent at an uptick in the high-skilled visa denial rates that rose to 24 per cent in 2018-19, as compared to only 6 percent up till a few years ago.

Though, a study by the Center for Immigration Studies revealed that employers of H-1B workers failed to appeal negative decisions USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) a whopping 98% of the time in FY 2019.

Data received from the CIS study may also help in giving some foresight to potential employers who feel that their sponsored visa seekers may be unfairly treated.

CIS found that in 2019, there were near to 70,000 initial H-1B denials recorded, but only 1,395 cases were appealed to the Administrative Appeals Office, another segment of DHS.

The fees of the government are $675 plus $4000 lawyer fees, so, an appeal would cost only $4,675. Yet 98% of the time employers are not willing to place the bet that totally undermines the industry’s bleats about such an increase rate in denials.

As if now Request for Evidence (RFE) and rising denials continue to be major concerns for H-1B employers, the study may give some insight to multinationals to also look into their appealing rights to defend a fair visa seeker.