USCIS Accepting Copies of Negative O and P Visa Consultations from Labor Unions - (02/11/19)
**2/11/19 Update: USCIS has recently announced that it is now also accepting negative P visa consultation letters directly from labor unions.
9/21/18: USCIS has created a dedicated email inbox for directly accepting copies of negative consultation letters from labor unions relating to a current or future O nonimmigrant visa petition request. This is in response to the concern expressed by unions about letters falsified by petitioners. After six months, USCIS will analyze data to identify areas for improvement in the consultation process.
A consultation letter from a U.S. peer group, labor organization, and/or management organization is generally required for O and P petitions. While this element of the visa petition is required, the union’s opinion is advisory and not binding on USCIS, whether positive or negative. USCIS takes into account the full range of supporting evidence when determining the outcome of a petition, and this new policy is not intended to change the weight of a union’s advisory opinion but to prevent petitioners from fraudulently creating a positive opinion letter when a negative one has been issued.