USCIS Ends Deference Policy for Employment-Based Visa Extensions

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally proposed the elimination of a long-standing policy that directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers to generally defer to previous visa approvals when reviewing extension petitions. Historically, if an applicant had already been vetted and approved for a specific role, subsequent extensions for the same parties were processed with a presumption of continued eligibility. This proposed change would remove that presumption, requiring officers to conduct a de novo review of the petition, regardless of prior approvals.

This shift is part of a broader effort by the current administration to enhance the rigor of the immigration vetting process. By removing the deference policy, USCIS aims to ensure that every extension petition meets current statutory and regulatory requirements, even if the underlying facts of the employment have not changed. This development follows the October 2026 Visa Bulletin updates, which also introduced new cutoff dates for worldwide EB-2 applicants, signaling a period of increased administrative complexity for foreign professionals in the United States.

This policy change affects foreign nationals currently working in the U.S. on employment-based nonimmigrant visas (such as H-1B, L-1, or O-1) who are seeking to extend their stay. It also impacts the U.S. employers who sponsor these individuals and must now prepare for more comprehensive documentation requirements during the extension process.

Makutet anticipates that this policy change will lead to a measurable increase in processing times and a higher volume of Requests for Evidence across all employment-based categories. We expect that this will force companies to adopt more conservative immigration planning strategies, potentially discouraging some employers from pursuing extensions for roles that do not meet the highest threshold of scrutiny.