Among the recent restrictions enforced on working immigrants in the US, there is one that is enforcing changes on the existing forces in the mainland itself. This involves four critical changes by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) being enforced in the year 2018 that will have a direct impact on US employers of H-1B and L1 visa holders. So, companies employing H-1B workers will now get an increasing number of visits from USCIS, and the information they garner from these visits will be shared with the Department of State, the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice. The harshest impact of these changes would mean that adjudicators will increase the use of adverse site visit results to deny subsequent H-1B petitions to employers found to be noncompliant making it more punitive and less forgiving of mistakes, made knowingly or unknowingly.

Below is an outline of the four major changes being implemented by the USCIS impacting H-1B employing worksites –

Increased Site visits: Worksites employing H-1B and L1 visa holders should anticipate double the number of targeted site visits amounting to 20,000 each year.

Tracking Visa Activity: Starting July 2018, USCIS will introduce the Targeted Site Visit and Verification Program which will use a combination of randomly-selected “compliance” visits and “for cause” visits which will make the visits more visa-specific.

Shared Information: The observations of these visits are going to be shared with other critical government departments like the Department of State, the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice. This will enhance the investigations into H-1B employers who discriminate against U.S. workers and help prevent fraud.

Stricter H-1B adjudication: The Fraud Detection and National Security unit (FDNS) will be scrutinizing H-1B petitioners closely and prioritizing adverse decisions against fraudulent or noncompliant employers.

To understand what it takes to apply and get a work visa for the US, Petition requirements gives a break-down of information and a quick fact-check to assist with the technicalities.