Earlier this month, USCISDirector Francis Cissna, in aletter to Sen. Grassley (R-IA), described a number of forthcomingpolicies aimed at restricting the H-1B. Dir. Cissna’s policy changeshide behind fraud concerns. The real target is reducing legalimmigration.
The new restrictions that USCISplans to unilaterally impose include:
- Rewrite the definition of“Specialty Occupation”. USCIS will rewrite the definition ofspecialty occupation. Under the current “bottom-up” approach, USemployers decide who comes to America. The agency’s “big government”rewrite will create more regulation, more USCIS officer discretion, and lessaccountability for USCIS officers. These policies are being producedbecause the administration thinks that it knows who are the “best andbrightest,” instead of the marketplace.
- Denying spouses from Working In TheUnited States: USCIS’ long-rumoredplan to eliminate H-4 EADs was announced in the USCIS’ semiannualregulatory agenda.
- Ratcheting up third-party worksiteH-1B denials. Despite no objective evidence that fraud exists inthird-party staffing situations, USCIS seeks to ask for additional evidencethat it does not ask for in first-party worksite assignments. This issueseems ripe for litigation. It seems inevitable that an H-1B employer willsuccessfully challenge the Service’s overreaching requests in this area.