Thousands of skilled foreign workers in the United States face a key deadline this week. Public comments close on Friday, 13 November 2026, on a Department of Homeland Security proposal that would make H-1B visa extensions harder — by ending the rule that tells immigration officers to defer to their own earlier approvals.
The proposal, titled “Removing Deference to Prior USCIS Determinations of Eligibility”, was published on 14 October 2026. It would delete a single regulation, 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5), which currently requires US Citizenship and Immigration Services to generally defer to a previous approval when the employer, worker and underlying facts have not changed. If the rule is finalised, officers would review extension applications from scratch — a process known as de novo review — even when nothing about the job has changed.
About 208,000 petitions a year affected
The scale is large. The department estimated that an average of 208,429 petitions a year were eligible for deference in fiscal years 2022 to 2025 — about 30 per cent of all petitions filed on Form I-129, the form used for nonimmigrant workers. The rule covers H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E and P visas, among others.
Law firms and advisers, including EY, have warned employers to prepare for more scrutiny of extension filings, and legal experts expect a sharp rise in Requests for Evidence — the formal demands for extra proof that slow cases down — if deference is removed.
Universities push back
The University of Michigan has submitted formal comments opposing the change, warning that allowing officials to revisit earlier eligibility decisions without explaining the departure would increase uncertainty for workers seeking extensions and could push more people into immigration status violations after early job loss.
Nothing has changed yet. The proposal is only a proposal, and the current rule stays in force until the department publishes a final rule and it takes effect. After comments close on 13 November under docket USCIS-2026-0529, the department will review the feedback before deciding next steps.
The proposal arrives in a season of tightening rules for skilled workers. It follows the debate over the plan to end the 60-day grace period for laid-off visa holders, and comes days after IBM ended H-1B and green card sponsorship for most of its consulting roles.
Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.