Full-fledged Guidance on L-1B Specialized Knowledge Level

 A worker has specialized knowledge under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA 214(c)(2)(B)) if they have either of the following: (1) "special" knowledge of the company's product and its use in international markets; or (2) "advanced" level knowledge of the company's processes and procedures. Similar to this, the corresponding Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(D)) defines specialized knowledge as "special" or "advanced" knowledge: Special knowledge of the product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests of the petitioning organization and its application in international markets of immigration lawyers in Dubai, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization's processes and procedures, possessed by an individual.

According to statistics, the "specialized knowledge" criteria and how USCIS interprets and uses it have been the main areas of contention in L-1B adjudications, leading to inconsistent decisions and occasionally high denial rates. According to a National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) examination of government statistics, the USCIS refusal rate for L-1B applications has averaged a relatively high 28.2% over the previous seven years, spanning portions of three presidential administrations, as noted by Forbes.

The Memo provides instructions on how to show specialized knowledge in an effort to clear up any confusion over how "specialized knowledge" should be interpreted.

Salient Features of the Notice

When compared to knowledge typically found in the industry or within the petitioning employer, special knowledge refers to knowledge of the petitioning employer's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and their applications in international markets. Advanced knowledge of the immigration lawyers in Dubai, on the other hand, is knowledge or expertise in the organization's unique processes and procedures that is not typically found in the industry.

Use of the “Specialized Knowledge” Standard

The Memo provides detailed instructions on how adjudicators should decide whether a person in a certain situation possesses "special" or "advanced" knowledge. It adds that this judgment necessarily necessitates contrasting the beneficiary's knowledge with that of other people. It is the petitioner's responsibility to show that the beneficiary's expertise is uncommon in the relevant field. Knowledge need not be proprietary or exclusive to the petitioning organization in order to be deemed specialized. Additionally, in order to be eligible for the L-1B classification, an individual does not need to possess BOTH advanced and specialized expertise.

The same principles and standards described in the Memo generally apply for deciding whether knowledge is advanced or exceptional. The essential distinction is whether the knowledge relates to the product, service, research, tools, management, or other interests of the specific firm and its applicability to global markets, or to unusual understanding of the business's practices and procedures.

• In deciding whether knowledge is specialized, USCIS may take into account a number of non-exhaustive variables, which are listed in the Memo and include:
• if the recipient has expertise of international business practices that is crucial to the petitioning organization's American activities.
• Whether the recipient has had international employment that involved tasks that considerably improved the employer's output, competitiveness, reputation, or financial standing.
• if the beneficiary's alleged specialized expertise ordinarily can only be acquired via prior experience with the petitioning organization.
• Whether the recipient has knowledge of a method or product that cannot be easily taught to another person without incurring a considerable financial expense or inconvenience (since, for instance, such information may take a large amount of training, job experience, or education).
• Whether the recipient is knowledgeable about a procedure or a product that is complicated, complex, or extremely technical, albeit not necessarily exclusive to the company.
• if the recipient has information that is especially advantageous to the employer's ability to compete in the market.