L1 US visas enable organizations within the United States to have an overseas employee transferred into the country in order to work for the same firm, or its parent or subsidiary company. These visas allow working immigrants, together with their children and spouses, to gain temporary residence in the United States, with many hoping to be able to eventually get a green card.
From January this year the US Citizenship and Immigration Services started to conduct onsite work inspections of L1 employers under the Site Inspection Program of its Fraud Detection and National Security Division. A report has been released by the Department of Homeland Security that raised concerns about possible fraud within the L1 program, a report that is seen as the first step toward addressing wrongdoing and making the system both fraud proof and more efficient.
A number of offices that have put in applications for L1 US visas for their employees who are based overseas, or have filed extensions for immigrant workers that are already in the United States, used falsified documents that were wrongly approved and it is because of this that USCIS plans to be much more rigorous when it comes to its worksite inspections prior to renewing L1 petitions.
Immigrant workers with an L1 visa might be interviewed when these visits take place, although an immigration manager needs to be there if they or the employer has any questions and is there to ensure their rights are protected.