{
  "id": "RL32030",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32030",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 314994,
      "date": "2006-05-15",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:03:02.229029",
      "title": "Immigration Policy for Intracompany Transfers (L Visa): Issues and Legislation",
      "summary": "Concerns are growing that the visa category that allows executives and managers of\nmultinational\ncorporations to work temporarily in the United States is being misused. This visa category,\ncommonly referred to as the L visa, permits multinational firms to transfer top-level personnel to\ntheir locations in the United States for five to seven years. The number of L visas issued has\nincreased by 363.5% over the past 25 years. The U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued only 26,535\nL visas in FY1980. L visa issuances began increasing in the mid-1990s and peaked at 122,981 in\nFY2005.\n Some are now charging that firms are using the L visa to transfer \"rank and file\" professional\nemployees rather than limiting these transfers to top-level personnel, thus circumventing immigration\nlaws aimed at protecting U.S. employees from the potential adverse employment effects associated\nwith an increase in the number of foreign workers. Proponents of current law maintain that any\nrestrictions on L visas would prompt many multinational firms to leave the United States, as well\nas undermine reciprocal agreements that currently permit U.S. corporations to transfer their\nemployees abroad.\n Title IV of  P.L. 108-447 , the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2005, renders ineligible\nfor L visa status those aliens who serve in a capacity involving specialized knowledge at the worksite\nof an employer other than the petitioning employer or its affiliate if (1) the alien will be controlled\nprincipally by the unaffiliated employer; or (2) the placement with the unaffiliated employer is part\nof an arrangement merely to provide labor rather than to use the alien's specialized knowledge. It\nalso requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to impose a fraud prevention and detection fee of\n$500 on H-1B (foreign temporary professional workers) and L (intracompany business personnel)\npetitioners.\n In the 109th Congress, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act ( S. 2611 / S. 2612 ) would add certain requirements for L visa applicants seeking to come\nto the United States to work in new or unopened facilities and would expand the staffing resources\nof DHS, DOS, and DOL to investigate abuses and enforce violations of the L visa. Other bills that\nwould reform the L visa include  H.R. 3322  and  H.R. 3381 .\n Earlier, the House Committee on the Judiciary reported  H.R. 3648 , which would\nimpose additional fees with respect to immigration services for L visa intracompany transferees. The\nbill would require the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to each charge fees of $1,500 to\nemployers filing certain visa applications and nonimmigrant petitions for L visas. These provisions\nwere included in Title V of  H.R. 4241 , the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which the\nHouse passed on November 18, 2005. The Senate version ( S. 1932 ) would raise the\nminimum fee for L-1 visas by $750. The conference report on S.  1932 did not include\nthese L visa provisions. This report tracks legislative activity and will be updated as action warrants.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806821/",
      "id": "RL32030_2006Jan26",
      "date": "2006-01-26",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Immigration Policy for Intracompany Transfers (L Visa): Issues and Legislation",
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      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc816828/",
      "id": "RL32030_2005Oct24",
      "date": "2005-10-24",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Immigration Policy for Intracompany Transfers (L Visa): Issues and Legislation",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
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  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Immigration Policy"
  ]
}