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L1 visa and H1B visa holders will need to attend an in person interview in order to gain legal permanent residence with a US Green Card, as part of Donald Trump's 'extreme vetting' of immigrants.

The new policy will affect anyone holding a temporary (non immigrant) employment based US visa, which means R and O visa holders will also be affected in addition to L1 and H1B holders, and will take effect from October 1, said USCIS Director James McCament on Friday.

How L1 and H1B holders apply for a Green Card

The L1 and H1B are both dual intent visas, which means visa holders can work in the US while applying for permanent residence. L1 holders usually apply for a Green Card through the EB1C immigrant scheme, while H1B holders often use the EB2 Green Card or EB3 Green Card route.

The H1B is often difficult and expensive to obtain, so many opt to use a B1 business visitor visa in lieu of an H1B.

Another popular way of gaining a US Green Card for foreign investors is to first apply for a US E2 Treaty Investor Visa, and then applying for a Green Card while in the US, usually an EB-5 Green Card.


Other US visa holders affected

Any Green Card applicants with family members who are refugees or in receipt of asylum status will also need to attend an interview.

In the 2015 financial year approximately 122,000 immigrants moved from and employment based visa, such as an L1 or H1B, to a Green Card, reports Politico.

Other US visa categories, such as the E1 Treaty Trader and E2 Treaty Investor, may eventually be subject to the same rules. Speaking to Politico, USCIS spokesperson Cater Langston said there will be an 'incremental expansion' in the number of visa categories which will require an in person Green Card interview.


The policy is "part of a comprehensive strategy to further improve the detection and prevention of fraud and security risks to the United States," Langston added.

In person interviews have been present in US Green Card rules for some time, but the requirement is usually waived, according to former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association William Stock. “The immigration service realized that most of the time it was a colossal waste of everyone’s time,” he said.

The new interviews will almost certainly increase Green Card waiting times, which already often run over 6 months.

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