As the Trump administration looks to curtail the ability of foreigners to live and work in the United States, many of the changes are happening through executive orders and policy memos, not legislation.
The latest shift affects holders of the H-1B visa favored by tech companies, as well as other work visas, who are seeking to extend their stays.
Under a new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
policy issued Monday, foreigners applying for a visa extension will no longer be given “deference” if their job descriptions haven’t significantly changed. This means that regardless of how long a foreigner has been in the country, immigration officers must review the application as if it were new.
Previously, if a foreigner’s job description was unchanged, immigration officials would approve the extension under a 2004 rule that instructed them to “defer to prior determinations of eligibility,” except in extreme circumstances.
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