USCIS Proposes Ending Deference to Prior Approvals When Extending Worker-Visa Petitions

October 15, 2026

DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services propose to remove 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5). That provision “generally provides that USCIS gives deference to a prior approval involving the same facts when adjudicating a request to extend a petition for an alien’s employment or stay.”

Sources

• Federal Register, “Removing Deference to Prior USCIS Determinations of Eligibility” (October 14, 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/14/2026-20941/removing-deference-to-prior-uscis-determinations-of-eligibility