Thousands of workers on H-1B visas looking to renew their legal status could face tougher scrutiny as the Trump administration looks to scrap a faster renewal process.
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) planned changes, outlined in a Federal Register filing, would be the latest move by the current administration to alter the H-1B program amid concerns of long-term abuse by tech companies that leads to the exclusion of American-born workers.
Under the plan, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers would no longer be allowed to defer to previous applications when processing H-1B and other work visa renewals, essentially starting the process over even if the applicant, employer and role remain the same.
DHS argued in the proposal that the current policy weakens oversight and may allow errors or fraud to continue into the new visa period.
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“Eliminating deference for prior approvals means that USCIS will adjudicate and challenge again facts it already determined to be true," Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, told Newsweek. "During Trump’s first term, it was a leading cause of time-consuming, expensive Requests for Evidence and led to denials of H-1B renewals for many companies’ long-tenured employees.
"Forcing companies to remove experienced employees from the United States only makes them less competitive. It encourages U.S. companies to move more resources to other countries where they can find more stable employment arrangements.”
Newsweek reached out to DHS for comment via email on Tuesday morning.
What Is USCIS Changing?
Under current regulations, USCIS officers can generally defer to previous approvals involving the same employer, worker and facts unless there has been a material error, significant change or new adverse information that could affect a visa renewal.
The policy was introduced in 2024 by the Biden administration as part of efforts to speed up application processing at USCIS, which has long struggled with application backlogs and a lack of staffing because the agency is predominantly funded by the fees it charges.
Under the new plan, USCIS officers would not be able to start from that presumption. Instead, they would need to review each extension application on its own merits, even if nothing has changed.
Who Is Affected by the Change?
While the H-1B will likely be the focus of the discussion around USCIS' plan, other visa holders looking for an extension will also be impacted.
The rule change applies to Form I-129, which employment-based nonimmigrant visa holders fill out to extend their stay.
Those affected by the plan are:
- H-1B specialty workers
- H-2A agricultural workers
- H-2B seasonal workers
- L-1 intracompany transferees
- O-1 extraordinary ability workers
- P visa holders
- R-1 religious workers
- TN professionals from Canada and Mexico
- E visa workers covered by I-129 filings
DHS estimates that around 208,000 extension applications yearly will be affected by the change, with H-1B filings making up around 75 percent of those, per the department's own analysis.
The filing acknowledges that applications will likely take months longer, with more Requests for Evidence (RFEs) sent out to those seeking renewals, leading to greater uncertainty for workers and their employers.
"This proposed regulatory change is designed to inject more uncertainty into the immigration system," Elissa Taub, a partner at immigration law firm Siskind Susser in Memphis, Tennessee, told Newsweek. "Even this mere proposal will again increase anxiety amongst international workers who will believe that their status in the US is always precarious.
"USCIS couches this drastic shift in policy by asking for more discretion and making it sound like they are forced to approve cases that shouldn’t be approved, but that’s not true. The agency already has considerable discretion to question and deny petitions where there is fraud or where the individual or the position do not qualify. Taking away deference to prior determinations makes every H-1B extension a risky endeavor. That’s no way to manage a US workforce."
Why Is the Trump Administration Doing This?
DHS argues in its proposal that the burden of proof should always remain on employers, because it aligns with wider immigration policy.
"This change would better align DHS regulations with the statute, which places the burden of proving eligibility for all immigration benefits on the petitioner, applicant, or beneficiary; strengthen adjudicatory review; and support agency priorities to improve the integrity of the immigration system and better protect the interests of U.S. workers," the filing reads.
The department says in its proposal that the deference policy risks undermining the security of the H-1B and other programs by allowing errors or concerns to go unchecked.
Under the Trump administration, officials have repeatedly raised concerns about legal immigration pathways, particularly around the impact on American workers and the potential for fraud, with Vice President JD Vance last week announcing that green card applications for H-1B workers at select tech companies, including Microsoft, were suspended due to concerns that the visa program had been abused.
While the H-1B is not the only work-based visa, it has become the focal point of discussion around the legal immigration system and its impact on the U.S. workforce, with the latest filing repeatedly referencing the need to protect American workers.
What Happens Next
The rule will officially be published to the Federal Register on Wednesday, with a 30-day comment period then opening. After DHS reviews feedback, the plan can be put in place through a final rule, so, for now, renewal applications are unaffected.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Dave Siminoff.