Nonimmigrant Visas: Use of Visas By Alien Artists, Entertainers, and Athletes (Letter Report, 05/11/94, GAO/NSIAD-94-147). As of September 1993, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) had approved petitions for about 41,000 O and P visas, which are temporary worker visas for persons with distinguished merit and ability, including artists, entertainers, and athletes. The State Department's overseas posts had issued about 23,000 O and P visas, and aliens holding these visas had entered the United States about 31,000 times. The law requires the Attorney General to report to Congress each year, beginning in 1993, on the occupations of aliens seeking O and P visas. The 1993 report was lost during processing, however, and was not sent to Congress until March 1994--nearly a year late. The report due in April 1994 is now being prepared. INS is in the process of developing an automated database to compile information on the occupations of aliens whose petitions for O and P visas are approved. Until this system is in place, INS is using statistical sampling to estimate the occupations of petitioners. Its sampling for the period ending September 1992 showed that the majority of petition beneficiaries were musicians and composers. --------------------------- Indexing Terms ----------------------------- REPORTNUM: NSIAD-94-147 TITLE: Nonimmigrant Visas: Use of Visas By Alien Artists, Entertainers, and Athletes DATE: 05/11/94 SUBJECT: Immigration and naturalization law Immigration or emigration Data bases Reporting requirements Statistical data Computerized information systems Data collection operations ************************************************************************** * This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a GAO * * report. 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We are unable to accept electronic orders * * for printed documents at this time. * ************************************************************************** Cover ================================================================ COVER Report to Congressional Requesters May 1994 NONIMMIGRANT VISAS - USE OF VISAS BY ALIEN ARTISTS, ENTERTAINERS, AND ATHLETES GAO/NSIAD-94-147 Nonimmigrant Visas Abbreviations =============================================================== ABBREV INS - Immigration and Naturalization Service Letter =============================================================== LETTER B-256930 May 11, 1994 The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy Chairman, Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate The Honorable Jack Brooks Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives The Honorable Romano L. Mazzoli Chairman, Subcommittee on International Law, Immigration, and Refugees Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives This report provides information on the use of O and P visas by alien artists, entertainers, athletes, and related support personnel who enter or seek entry to the United States as nonimmigrants. It also discusses (1) the status of reports that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is required to submit to Congress and (2) INS's progress in analyzing the occupations of aliens whose petitions for visas are approved. This and our earlier report, Nonimmigrant Visas: Requirements Affecting Artists, Entertainers, and Athletes (GAO/NSIAD-93-6, Oct. 26, 1992), respond to reporting requirements in section 202 (b)(1) of Public Law 102-232, dated December 12, 1991. BACKGROUND ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1 The Immigration Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-649) established new classes of O and P temporary worker visas for those people with distinguished merit and ability. The subclasses of these visas are defined as follows. O-1 visas are for people with extraordinary ability in the arts (including films or television), sciences, education, business, or athletics, and O-2 visas are for their essential support personnel. P-1 visas are for internationally recognized athletes or entertainers and their essential support personnel; P-2 visas are for artists or entertainers performing as part of a reciprocal exchange program; and P-3 visas are for artists or entertainers specializing in culturally unique performances. Most of these visas became effective in April 1992; however, the P-2 visa and the O-1 visa for persons of extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, or business became effective in October 1991. RESULTS IN BRIEF ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2 As of September 1993, INS had approved petitions for about 41,000 O and P visas; the State Department's overseas posts had issued about 23,000 O and P visas; and aliens holding O and P visas had entered the United States about 31,000 times. Under a legislative requirement, the Attorney General must report to the Congress annually, beginning in April 1993, on the occupations of aliens seeking O and P visas. However, the report that was due in April 1993 was lost during processing and was not transmitted to the Congress until March 7, 1994--almost 1 year late. The report due in April 1994 is now being prepared. INS is in the process of developing an automated database system to compile data on the occupations of aliens whose petitions for O and P visas are approved. Until its automated data system is in place, INS is using statistical sampling to estimate the occupations of O and P petitioners. Its sampling for the period ending September 1992 showed that the majority of petition beneficiaries were musicians and composers. DATA ON THE USE OF O AND P VISAS ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3 There are three measures of the use of O and P visas: (1) the number of people (petition beneficiaries) on nonimmigrant workers' petitions for visas approved by INS; (2) the number of visas issued by the State Department's posts overseas; and (3) the number of times, as reported by INS inspectors, that visa holders have entered the United States. These indicators, although related, are not directly comparable. Not all persons whose petitions for visas are approved will seek and be issued visas, and workers from Canada with approved petitions are not required to obtain visas. A person granted a visa may enter the United States once, a number of times, or not at all. In addition, there is a time lag between when a person's petition for a visa is approved, when the visa is issued, and when the person seeks entry and is admitted into the United States. PETITION BENEFICIARIES ---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :3.1 For prospective workers to obtain O and P visas, their employers or agents must submit petitions to INS for its approval. A petition may include more than one worker. From April 1992 to September 1993, INS approved petitions for 41,322 workers to receive O and P visas. Of these, 25,275, or about 60 percent, were for internationally recognized athletes or entertainers and their essential support personnel (P-1 visa). Table 1 shows the number of workers, by visa subclass, that INS approved for visas through September 1993. Table 1 Number of Workers on INS-Approved Petitions for O and P Visas. Apr. to Oct. 1992 Sept. to Sept. Visa subclass 1992 1993 Total -------------------------------- ------ ---------- ------ O-1 1,243 3,063 4,306 O-2 498 1,685 2,183 ============================================================ Subtotal 1,741 4,748 6,489 P-1 7,716 17,559 25,275 P-2 74 446 520 P-3 2,851 6,187 9,038 ============================================================ Subtotal 10,641 24,192 34,833 ============================================================ Total 12,382 28,940 41,322 ------------------------------------------------------------ Source: GAO analysis of INS data. VISAS ISSUED ---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :3.2 On the basis of INS-approved petitions, the State Department's posts overseas issue visas for entry into the United States. As with the petition beneficiaries, about 60 percent of the visas issued through September 1993 were for internationally recognized athletes, entertainers, and essential support personnel (P-1). Data for the first 6 months of fiscal year 1994 is expected to be available about June 1994. Table 2 shows the number of visas issued by the State Department. Table 2 Number of O and P Visas Issued by State Department Posts Overseas. Apr. to Oct. 1992 Sept. to Sept. Visa subclass 1992 1993 Total -------------------------------- ------ ---------- ------ O-1 451 2,003 2,454 O-2 223 1,001 1,224 ============================================================ Subtotal 674 3,004 3,678 P-1 2,886 11,308 14,194 P-2 34 121 155 P-3 1,399 3,642 5,041 ============================================================ Subtotal 4,319 15,071 19,390 ============================================================ Total 4,993 18,075 23,068 ------------------------------------------------------------ Source: GAO analysis of State Department data. ENTRIES INTO THE UNITED STATES ---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :3.3 INS inspectors at U.S. ports of entry report entries by visa holders. Through September 1993, 66 percent of entries were for internationally recognized athletes, entertainers, and essential support personnel (P-1). Table 3 shows reported entries for O and P visa holders. Data for the first half of fiscal year 1994 is expected to be available from INS in mid-1994. Table 3 Number of Entries of O and P Visa Holders Into the United States. Apr. to Oct. 1992 Sept. to Sept. Visa subclass 1992 1993 Total -------------------------------- ------ ---------- ------ O-1 448 3,128 3,576 O-2 252 977 1,229 ============================================================ Subtotal 700 4,105 4,805 P-1 3,523 17,205 20,728 P-2 89 423 512 P-3 1,126 4,103 5,229 ============================================================ Subtotal 4,738 21,731 26,469 ============================================================ Total 5,438 25,836 31,274 ------------------------------------------------------------ Source: GAO analysis of INS data. REPORTING DELAYS ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4 Section 207(c) of Public Law 102-232 requires the Attorney General to report to the Congress by April of each year on the occupations of people included in petitions for O and P visas. The first report covering the period ending in September 1992 was due in April 1993. In 1993, INS personnel prepared a draft report and put it in process for transmittal to the Department of Justice for review and subsequent transmittal to the Congress. However, when we inquired about the report, INS and Justice officials determined that the report apparently had become lost during processing and had not been transmitted to the Congress due to an administrative oversight. Upon realizing this apparent oversight, Justice submitted the report on March 7, 1994--almost 1 year late. INS is developing a second report that is due in April 1994 on the use of the O and P visas during fiscal year 1993. DATA GATHERING WEAKNESSES ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5 In 1992, on the basis of our prior work, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, requested that INS collect and compile data on O and P visas, particularly to distinguish among the various occupations covered under the visas. In December 1992, the INS Commissioner said that various means of collecting the data were being studied and that the agency was in the process of developing an automated system to track occupations in the future. In March 1994, an INS official said that they were still developing the automated system but that it is near to becoming operational. Thus, occupational data for a full year will not be available until mid-1995. Until the automated system becomes operational, INS is using statistical sampling to estimate occupations of the petition beneficiaries. INS estimates for the period April to September 1992 are included in the March 1994 report. For example, it estimated that musicians and composers constituted between 68 and 84 percent of the P visa petition beneficiaries and athletes constituted between 5 and 9 percent. INS reported that considering sampling errors, chances are about 95 out of 100 that the number of people in a specified occupation is within the specified range. Its estimates for fiscal year 1993 will be included in the INS report now being prepared. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :6 We reviewed the data compiled by INS and State and discussed with INS its data gathering and reporting plans; however, we did not test the data provided by INS and State. We conducted our work from January to March 1994 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. We did not obtain written agency comments on this report; however, we discussed a draft of this report with program officials at INS. They generally concurred with the information presented in the report. We incorporated their specific comments where appropriate. ---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :6.1 We are sending copies of this report to other interested congressional committees, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. We will make copies available to others on request. Please contact me on (202) 512-4128 if you or your offices have any questions concerning this report. Major contributors to this report are John Brummet, Roy F. Hutchens, and Frederick J. Barrett. Joseph E. Kelley Director-in-Charge International Affairs Issues