USCIS recently announced an expansion of its Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program, which conducts unannounced site visits to the offices of U.S. employers who have filed H-1B — and now L-1 — visa petitions. The program is implemented by the USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNSD). Until recently, site visits targeted locations where H-1B workers were employed and verified compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the H-1B petition filings. This expansion corresponds to a report on the L-1 visa category recently released by the Office of Inspector General, which specifically recommended that USCIS complete a site visit before approving extensions of new office L-1 petitions. It is anticipated that extensions of new office L-1 petitions will be the primary target of L-1 site visits initially. Whether the program will be expanded to longer-established companies that file L-1 petitions remains to be seen; in all likelihood, that too can be expected.
