United States consulates have a higher denial rate for employer-sponsored visas for immigrant prospective legal permanent residents due to problems with their proposed job offers. These denials by consulates go against Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approvals. A staggering 61% of these visas are denied by US consulates.

Part of the reason for this high rate of denial is the fact that the consulates give little to no weight to previous approvals by DOL and DHS. It is significantly more difficult to obtain a green card in a foreign country. Many prospective immigrants attempt to obtain temporary visas or enter illegally.

Legal immigrants to the United States have options to pursue a green card. They can obtain a green card by getting an immigrant visa from the State Department at a US consulate or embassy abroad, or they can change their status from temporary to permanent within the U.S. Employer-sponsored immigrants obtain temporary work visas. In addition, further efforts are made to pursue obtaining their green card once in the U.S.

In 2021, over 150,000 employer-sponsored immigrants adjusted their status once already in the United States. Only about 9% of that number received their immigrant visas before arriving in the United States. It can take over 500 days for the DOL to complete the process of permanent labor certification for green card approval, which also contributes to this figure.

Since multiple departments are required to approve steps in the processes of green card and immigrant visa applications, denials by the DHS are rare. They denied about 4% of employer-sponsored immigrants that were applying for a change of status to permanent residence. However, at abroad consulates, only the details under labor certification ground of ineligibility are reported. These grounds only apply to EB-2 and EB-3 category immigrants and are only used if the State Department finds a problem with their job offer.

An all-time high of denials was reached in 2009 when 79% of labor certifications were denied on the ground of ineligibility. This figure does not include denial on other grounds, like misrepresentation, public charge, and criminal background. These statistics have contributed to a decrease in trust in these processes of employer-sponsored immigration. Further insights are available by checking the Department of State report.

If you have questions about your employer-sponsored immigrant status or are looking for help with any immigration-related issue, contact us at ILBSG. We actively monitor the ongoing immigration process to ensure our clients get the right advice.

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