The "Need for Speed": How Employers—Not Just USCIS—Control the Pace of Your Work Visa

Navigating the U.S. immigration system, particularly employment-based pathways like the H-1B temporary work visa, often involves a significant amount of waiting. The time between filing an application and receiving a decision from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can stretch for months, creating uncertainty for both the prospective employee and the sponsoring employer.

It is commonly assumed that the speed of this process rests solely in the hands of government adjudicators. However, recent research reveals that employers play a significant, and often overlooked, role in determining which applications are prioritized. Employers are not passive participants; they actively make strategic decisions that influence how quickly an application is processed and its likelihood of success.

A compelling new scholarly study published in the ILR Review analyzes years of USCIS administrative records to understand how and why this happens. The findings underscore that employers have substantial agency in shaping visa outcomes—an outcome typically attributed only to regulator discretion.

The Tools Employers Use to Prioritize

The study, titled "The Need for Speed: The Role of Employers in Immigrant Work Visa Regulatory Prioritization," by Ben A. Rissing and Laura Carver, identifies three main ways employers prioritize specific H-1B applications:

1. Premium Processing: This is the most direct method. For a substantial additional fee (currently over $2,800), employers can utilize the USCIS "Premium Processing" service, guaranteeing an initial decision within 15 days. This drastically cuts down the months-long wait associated with standard processing.

2. Persistence: Prioritization also means commitment—choosing not to withdraw or abandon an application while it is under review.

3. Employment Duration: Requesting longer initial employment durations (up to the three-year maximum), signaling a stronger commitment to the hire and forestalling future interactions with the bureaucracy.

Analyzing over 530,000 H-1B applications, the researchers sought to determine which factors lead employers to utilize these strategies.

Who Gets the Fast Track?

Rissing and Carver tested three central theories to explain employer behavior. Two were strongly supported by the data, while one yielded a surprising result.

1. The Human Capital Advantage

The study strongly supports what the authors call the "human capital" account. Simply put, employers prioritize applications for immigrants they perceive as particularly valuable employees, often indicated by higher educational investments.

The data clearly shows that immigrants with Master’s, Doctoral, or Professional degrees are significantly more likely to have their employers pay for Premium Processing compared to those with Bachelor’s degrees. Furthermore, employers are less likely to withdraw or abandon applications for these highly educated workers during the review process.

2. The Value of Being Unique

Perhaps the most compelling finding relates to what the authors term "relative dissimilarity." The study found that employers are more likely to prioritize visa applications that are unique compared to their past filings.

If a company routinely files applications for similar roles or for immigrants from the same country of origin, they exhibit "reduced urgency to clear regulatory hurdles" for those standard applications.

However, if an employer is hiring for an unusual position, sponsoring an immigrant from a country they rarely recruit from, or hiring someone with a different mix of domestic vs. foreign education than their typical hires, they are much more likely to use Premium Processing and request longer employment durations. This suggests employers are willing to invest more to quickly secure specialized knowledge or diverse talent.

3. The "Repeat Player" Surprise

Counterintuitively, the study refuted the idea that "repeat players"—employers with extensive experience navigating the immigration system—are more likely to prioritize applications.

In fact, the opposite was true. Employers with a higher volume of past applications were less likely to use Premium Processing, slightly more likely to withdraw or abandon applications, and tended to request shorter employment durations.

The Financial Reality of Immigration Access

This research underscores a critical issue regarding access and equity within the immigration system. The speed of adjudication often depends on the employer’s financial resources and their specific business priorities.

The existence of Premium Processing creates a two-tiered system. As the study highlights, the substantial fee means that access to a fast decision is often limited to well-resourced employers or highly prioritized candidates. This can create disadvantages for immigrants sponsored by smaller firms or startups that may not have the budget to expedite every case. As the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has noted, this system implies "that only those who have substantial financial resources can afford to have true access to processing."

How LowsonFord Levels the Playing Field

At LowsonFord, we understand the complexities and the significant financial investment required to navigate the U.S. immigration bureaucracy successfully. The combination of government filing fees, potential Premium Processing costs, and expert legal services can be overwhelming.

We believe that financial barriers should not dictate access to high-quality immigration assistance. The findings of this study emphasize that strategic navigation is vital, yet the costs involved can be prohibitive.

This is why LowsonFord specializes in offering flexible payment plans for our immigration services. Our mission is to make the immigration help you need accessible for a low, manageable monthly price. We are committed to ensuring that cost does not stand in the way of securing your immigration status or hiring the talent your business needs.

If you are beginning your employment-based visa journey, contact LowsonFord today to learn how we can help you navigate the system expertly and affordably.