Indian, U.S. firms urge Obama action on visas

23.03.2012
WASHINGTON - Some of the largest IT companies in India and the U.S. are complaining to President Obama that it has become increasingly difficult to get work visas for their employees -- and they want him to take action.

In a letter Thursday to Obama, the companies said that the U.S. is creating "unprecedented delays and uncertainty" around L-1 visas, which are used for intra-company transfers of employees from foreign offices to U.S. offices. They claim that U.S. immigration authorities are exceeding the law in rejecting their visa applications.

The White House letter sheds light on just who is behind this push to change how the U.S. treats visa applications.

Although the L-1 visa is different from the H-1B visa, they are part of the same debate concerning the displacement of U.S. workers by foreign labor. Critics contend that offshore companies, in particular, use the L-1 for : to help move work overseas.

In recent years, the U.S. has toughened enforcement of its H-1B and L-1 program through rejections of visa petitions and increased demands for paperwork that can lengthen the wait, and cost, of a visa.

Complaints about the visa processes have been growing in recent years, and the undertone of the letter to Obama is one of frustration. "Such delays or denials do not enhance compliance or enforcement and do nothing except disrupt carefully-laid business plans and create significant costs to the company and the American economy," the companies told Obama.