US now demanding home addresses & biometrics from H-1B visa workers; raises concern
Immigration
authorities in the United States have started issuing Requests for Evidence (RFEs) in H-1B and other employment-based immigrant visa cases, seeking home addresses and biometric data from applicants, according to a Forbes report.
The new development, as per the report, has caused concern among immigration attorneys, as
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(
USCIS
) has not previously requested such information for these petition types, raising questions about the agency's intent and transparency.
Sudden notice alarms attorneys
Play Video
Pause
Skip Backward
Skip Forward
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
0:00
Loaded
:
0%
0:00
Stream Type
LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
1x
Playback Rate
Chapters
Chapters
Descriptions
descriptions off
, selected
Captions
captions settings
, opens captions settings dialog
captions off
, selected
Audio Track
default
, selected
Picture-in-Picture
Fullscreen
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text
Color
White
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Text Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Transparent
Caption Area Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Transparent
Semi-Transparent
Opaque
Font Size
50%
75%
100%
125%
150%
175%
200%
300%
400%
Text Edge Style
None
Raised
Depressed
Uniform
Drop shadow
Font Family
Proportional Sans-Serif
Monospace Sans-Serif
Proportional Serif
Monospace Serif
Casual
Script
Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values
Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Play War Thunder now for free
War Thunder
Play Now
Undo
Attorneys representing employers and foreign workers report receiving RFEs in cases involving H-1B and I-140 employment-based petitions. These notices refer to 'potentially adverse information' and seek updated residential addresses, with the stated intention of collecting biometric data.
(Join our
ETNRI WhatsApp channel
for all the latest updates)
'This is highly unusual because biometrics are not typically required for these case types,' Vic Goel of Goel & Anderson told Forbes. 'The RFEs also fail to explain the nature of the adverse information, leaving employers and attorneys in the dark.'
Live Events
MORE STORIES FOR YOU
✕
«
Back to recommendation stories
I don't want to see these stories because
They are not relevant to me
They disrupt the reading flow
Others
SUBMIT
In one instance, an RFE issued by USCIS stated, 'We have encountered potentially adverse information related to the beneficiary. To continue processing your application or petition, we require an updated address for the beneficiary so that we may collect biometric data.'
This move is unprecedented in the processing of employment-based visa cases, as per immigration professionals. Typically, RFEs are limited to questions about eligibility criteria, not personal addresses or biometric collection.
Immigration officials' advice
Immigration attorneys advise caution in responding to the new RFEs. 'I recommend not responding directly to the RFE by providing the beneficiary's address or scheduling biometrics,' Goel told Forbes. Instead, he suggests citing 8 CFR 103.2(b)(16)(i), which requires USCIS to disclose any derogatory information used in making a decision.
Rising concerns among employers & universities
The timing of these RFEs coincides with heightened enforcement actions by the
Trump
administration, including deportations of international students for minor infractions and social media posts. As of April 18, over 240 U.S. colleges and universities have reported more than 1,550 international students and recent graduates facing changes to their legal status.
According to Forbes, the low annual
H-1B visa
cap and backlogs in green card processing already place significant pressure on employers. A study from the National Foundation for American Policy found that a European teenager is four times more likely to get a seasonal work visa than a foreign graduate student is to receive an H-1B to work in artificial intelligence.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
8-yr RI for man who raped woman with schizophrenia in '18
Mumbai: Observing that he exploited the vulnerability of a stranded woman with schizophrenia after she accepted a lift from him, a sessions court sentenced a 38-year-old Dahisar man to eight years of rigorous imprisonment for her rape and physical assault in 2018. T he court noted that the crime committed by Pradeep Tiwari would have traumatised the woman, "especially as she is a patient of paranoid schizophrenia". But it gave him just a year more than the minimum sentence of seven years—the crime attracts a maximum punishment of life imprisonment—reasoning that he had a family, he could be reformed, and he was unaware at the time of raping the woman that she had schizophrenia. "The manner in which the offence was committed has also not been proved to have been brutal in the extreme so as to make the accused liable for the maximum punishment prescribed," said additional sessions judge S J Ansari, who also fined Tiwari Rs 41,000. The time spent by Tiwari in prison since his arrest on Feb 23, 2018, will be set off against his sentence. Forensic evidence played a crucial role in his conviction. DNA analysis of semen stains found on the woman's undergarment matched the DNA profile obtained from Tiwari's blood samples. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The judge noted that the woman's deposition remained unshaken during cross-examination, and her account was corroborated by medical evidence and the forensic report. The woman had left a lodge in Vasai after an altercation with an acquaintance early on Jan 13, 2018. She took an auto for Dahisar station but was dropped midway. She accepted a lift from Tiwari, who was on a bike. He took her to a secluded building, assaulted her with a stone and raped her. He later left her at a tea stall, from where she returned home and confided in her mother.
Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
Mau's MP-MLA court to hear Ansari plea today
1 2 Varanasi: Disqualified MLA Abbas Ansari's appeal against his sentencing in the 'Hisab kitab' hate speech episode by the CJM (MP-MLA) court was filed before the session court of Mau district on Monday. Ansari's advocate Daroga Singh said that the appeal was moved before the sessions court on Monday, which transferred the case to the court of ADJ (MP-MLA) Rajiv Vats where the hearing will take place on Tuesday. Through this appeal, Ansari challenged the May 31 CJM (MP-MLA) court decision of sentencing him to two years of imprisonment, he added. On the next day of sentencing him by the court, his membership from the state Assembly was terminated. Ansari was sentenced in a case of hate speech lodged against him on March 4, 2022, after his speech delivered at a meeting in the Paharpur area on March 3, 2022, went viral on social media. While contesting the 2022 Assembly polls from the Mau Sadar seat as a Samajwadi Party-Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party alliance candidate, Ansari, in his Paharpur speech on March 3, 2022, stated, "After the formation of the SP-led govt, the officials would have to give 'hisab-kitab' (account) of their work of the past regime before getting transferred. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Costco Shoppers Say This Wrinkle Cream Is "Actually Worth It" The Skincare Magazine Undo " Ansari won the election, but he went to jail following his arrest by the Prayagraj unit of the ED in a money laundering case in Feb 2023. He came out of jail last March. The court, in its 48-page judgment, commented, "The accused has a criminal history and several serious criminal records are also associated with his family members. The family of the accused Abbas Ansari has held the Legislative Assembly seat of Mau Sadar for nearly 20 years. During his election campaign, Abbas Ansari gave a speech from the stage threatening to settle scores with state govt officials after the elections, which could have disrupted communal harmony. Therefore, it does not seem appropriate to give a lesser punishment to the accused."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
RBI to SC: Have issued norms to monitor use of loan money by realtors
NEW DELHI: As many banks and financial institutions have come under scanner for harassing homebuyers in connivance with real estate companies particularly in case of subvention plan and facing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe on direction of the Supreme Court, banking regulator RBI has virtually shrugged off its responsibility and told SC that it has over the years issued various guidelines and circulars to monitor use of loan amount by developers to prevent misuse and siphoning of funds. It also said that it had directed banks not to resort to intimidation or harassment of any kind for recovery of loan amounts from buyers. Under the subvention scheme, banks disburse the sanctioned amount directly to the the builders, who then have to pay EMIs on the sanctioned loan amount, until possession of the flats is handed over to homebuyers. As many builders did not complete construction and started defaulting in paying the EMIs to the banks as per the Tripartite Agreement, the banks started action against the buyers to recover the EMIs and it is the SC which came to their rescue by ordering a probe into the alleged 'unholy' nexus of builders and banks. In an affidavit filed in the apex court, RBI referred to various directions and guidelines issued by it from time to time and said, "RBI has performed its duty in discharge of its statutory obligations under the various statutes, including those under the BR (Banking Regulation) Act." The regulator said it had way back in 2015 taken cognisance of the practices such as Subvention Schemes and had issued guidelines as per which disbursal of housing loans sanctioned to individuals should be closely linked to the stages of construction of the housing project and upfront disbursal should not be made in cases of incomplete or under-construction housing projects. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pinga-Pinga e HBP? Tome isso 1x ao dia se tem mais de 40 anos Portal Saúde do Homem Clique aqui Undo In a relief to many homebuyers who booked flats under subvention plan and have not got possession of their flats because of inordinate delay by developers, SC had in July last year directed that no coercive action could be taken against them by banks or builders regarding payment of EMI and no complaint shall be entertained against them for cheque bounce cases. Seeking intervention, hundreds of homebuyers had moved the SC against banks and builders.
