H-1B Workers Face Tougher Visa Extension Reviews, Spouses Risk Work Gaps
WASHINGTON, DC- The Trump administration has proposed scrapping a rule that generally allows H-1B and other skilled foreign workers to receive extensions when the facts of their cases have not changed, while finalizing a separate rule ending automatic extensions of work permits for H-4 spouses of H-1B workers and other eligible applicants.
Both measures, issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), were posted for public inspection in the Federal Register on October 13 and are scheduled to be published on October 14. Indians, who account for the bulk of H-1B visa holders and H-4 spouses with work permits, are expected to be among those most affected.
The first measure is a proposed rule to remove a provision under which USCIS generally gives deference to a previous approval when reviewing an extension petition involving the same facts. The provision covers workers such as those on H-1B and L-1 visas and was introduced in a rule published in December 2024, during the final weeks of the Biden administration.
DHS said the proposed 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.”
The department argued that the existing policy effectively shifts the burden from the petitioner to the USCIS officer to justify departing from a previous approval. It said this could allow erroneous approvals to persist and make fraudulent or meritless petitions less likely to be detected.
DHS cited USCIS site-visit data showing that, among sites visited in H-1B extension cases during fiscal 2022-2025, the combined rate of non-compliance and/or fraud was 22.39 per cent, compared with 16.77 per cent during fiscal 2018-2020, when USCIS followed a no-deference policy.
For L-1A extension cases, the rate among sites visited was 24.46 per cent in fiscal 2022-2025, compared with 18.37 per cent in fiscal 2018-2020.
According to USCIS data cited in the proposal, an average of 208,429 extension petitions annually during fiscal 2022-2025 were of the kind to which deference generally applies, accounting for about 30 per cent of the 688,830 petitions filed each year.
The public will have 30 days after publication to comment on the proposed rule.
The second measure is a final rule that confirms an interim rule DHS published on October 30, 2025. That rule ended automatic extensions of employment authorization documents (EADs) for applicants in certain categories who had filed timely renewal applications. The final rule takes effect upon publication.
Previously, a timely renewal application could keep a work permit valid for up to 540 days while the application was pending.
The rule drew objections from commenters speaking on behalf of H-4 spouses of H-1B workers. They said processing times for H-4 EADs frequently exceed the recommended filing time of 180 days and warned of unavoidable gaps in employment, lost health insurance and possible eviction. Some also noted that women make up most H-4 EAD holders.
DHS said the rule “does not change the underlying eligibility of H-4, L-2, or other employment-based dependents to apply for employment authorization.”
It acknowledged that affected dependents and adjustment applicants could face temporary lapses in work authorization, affecting income, benefits and career continuity. However, the department maintained that automatic extensions for these groups raised the same underlying security and programme-integrity concerns as for other categories.
DHS estimated that 20,000 to 33,000 EADs could lapse during a single 18-month period beginning in May 2027. It estimated $138.1 million in lost productivity for employers and $312.1 million in potential labor-turnover costs over that period, with about 1,700 to 2,800 employers affected. (IANS)
