New USCIS Memo: No Deference Given to Prior Approvals When Adjudicating Extension Petitions

On 10/23/2017, USCIS issued a new memo announcing it will no longer give deference to prior I-129 approvals when adjudicating extension of stay I-129 petitions.  This latest policy memo illustrates USCIS’ intent to increase scrutiny of H1B and L-1 petitions.

This memo follows recent widespread issuance of Request For Evidence (RFE) notices for H-1B cases in which the wage offered does not meet level 2 prevailing wage (i.e., only meets level 1 prevailing wage out of 4 levels). 

See other related articles regarding increasing scrutiny by USCIS:

• DHS Impacts Legal Immigration Without Congress
• In-Person Interviews for EB I-485 Applicants
• Buy American and Hire American Executive Order
• H1B for Level 1 Wage Computer Programmers