In a written statement in response to a query from Computerworld before the White House letter was sent, the agency said: "USCIS has actively engaged with the public on the L-1B classification, including most recently at a forum at the end of January hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. USCIS is currently reviewing its L-1B policy guidance, which is comprised of a series of memoranda dating back to 1994, to assess whether that guidance assists adjudicators in applying the law in new business settings that companies face today."

The definition of "specialized knowledge" gives visa adjudicators a lot of leeway, said Marko Maglich, an immigration attorney at White & Case LLP. "There is some subjectivity in the adjudication and that means unpredictability," he said.

Patrick Thibodeau covers cloud computing and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at or subscribe to . His e-mail address is .

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