US Immigration Update: New Concerns for H-1B Visa Holders Over RFEs Asking for Home Address and Biometrics:

Employers sponsoring foreign visa holders for the H-1B and other related employment visas are now at a stand still due to shifts made by the immigration authorities. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have begun circulating “Request for Evidence” (RFE) notices which poses additional worries for visa immigrants and immigration attorneys alike.

New RFE Requirements

As cited by Forbes, USCIS is now asking for unreasonable demands from visa applicants such as providing them with personal files containing addresses alongside biometric information. Lawyers seem to be puzzled and worried for what seems to be a major change within USCIS under surprising policies. More often than not RFEs are requested concerning the individual’s job particulars and accompanying documentation. Issues such as home addresses, biometric details, and other identifying data have never been a part of consideration before.

Immigration attorneys state receiving RFEs for both H-1B and I-140 visa submissions. These RFEs note the inclusion of “potentially adverse information” without explaining the information in question. Officials substantiate that applicants were requested to provide their current addresses to facilitate visiting them for the collection of the biometric details.

Expert Concerns

Vic Goel states that because “biometrics are not usually needed for these visa types, this case is quite peculiar”, in addition to noting that RFEs are usually concerned with employment and qualification details rather than personal data.

Content of Recent RFEs

This has become quite a common case scenario within the RFEs the USCIS issues: “We have received some information regarding the beneficiary that might have a negative impact on the application. In order to further process your application, we need the beneficiary’s current address for the purpose of extracting biometric information.”

Advice from Immigration Lawyers

Immigration professionals strongly recommend exercising caution towards answering these new RFEs. Goel suggests not providing the home addresses or scheduling the biometrics to the given instructions sash. He explains, however, that by invoking regulation 8 CFR 103.2(b)(16)(i) which tells us that any information that is deemed as a disadvantage, in fact necessitates disclosure.