DHS Reforms To Attract And Retain Highly Skilled Immigrants
Release Date: January 31, 2012
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 41
[Public Notice:]
Visas: Issuance of Full Validity L Visas to Qualified Applicants
AGENCY: State Department.
ACTION: Final Rule.
SUMMARY:This rule permits the issuance of L visas with validity periods based on the visa reciprocity schedule; whereas the current rule limits L visas to the petition validity period, which is determined by the Department of Homeland Security.
Interpreting recent trends in I-94 nonimmigrant admissions has been complicated by more complete recording of entries into the United States. Beginning in 2005, at selected Southwest border crossings, the Department of Homeland Security installed new technology to record land admissions previously excluded from I-94 data systems; by 2010 this technology was installed at nearly all pedestrian crossings and vehicular lanes along the Southwest and Northern borders.