US Immigration Authorities Intensify Scrutiny on Laid-Off H-1B Workers
A growing trend of heightened enforcement is emerging as laid-off H-1B workers in the United States encounter increased challenges when attempting to remain in the country using visitor visas during their 60-day grace period. Immigration attorneys report a sharp rise in Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs) issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), indicating a significant tightening in how such cases are assessed.
Stricter Intent-Based Scrutiny Signals Policy Shift
A NOID from USCIS is particularly serious, as it suggests an application is likely to be rejected unless the applicant addresses specific concerns within a limited timeframe. This development reflects a shift toward stricter, intent-based scrutiny, especially for H-1B workers seeking to transition to B-1/B-2 visitor status after job loss.
Snehal Batra, Managing Attorney at NPZ Law Group, confirmed, "Yes, we're seeing an uptick in these RFEs." Ashwin Sharma, Attorney at Law, reinforced this, stating, "Yes, we have seen a sharp increase in both RFEs and NOIDs on these B-2 change of status filings. USCIS is now taking a much stricter view of what was previously a standard pathway of maintaining one’s status."
Rajiv S. Khanna, Managing Attorney at Immigration.com, agreed on the uptick but noted, "To be clear, so far, we have not had a case ultimately denied. But the increased scrutiny is unmistakable. The USCIS appears to be questioning the bona fides of these applications more aggressively than it did even a year ago." He emphasized that for workers racing against the 60-day grace period, receiving an RFE or NOID is a source of genuine fear about their ability to stay while sorting out next steps.
Do Laid-Off H-1B Workers Qualify for Visitor Status?
Recent cases show USCIS officers increasingly questioning whether applicants genuinely qualify for visitor status or are using it as a temporary means to remain while pursuing employment. The focus has sharpened on whether individuals applying for B-1/B-2 status and later securing a new H-1B job had, at the outset, the intent to stay for permissible visitor purposes.
Cyrus D. Mehta, founding partner at a New York-based immigration law firm, explained, "Changing from H-1B to B-2 status has always been tricky even before the recent trend of increased RFEs - when shifting to B-2 status or later, when shifting back to H-1B status." He added, "Although it is not impermissible to seek a new job while in B-2 status, it often leads to an inference by USCIS that such activity is impermissible, as the B-2 requires the applicant to have a residence abroad which has not been abandoned."
This current approach marks a departure from the relative flexibility seen during the Biden administration, when the B-1/B-2 route functioned as a practical "bridge" for laid-off workers. However, attorneys warn that this bridge is now narrowing sharply.
Available Options for Laid-Off H-1B Workers
Mehta advises, "The best approach is to try to get the current employer to keep the H-1B worker employed as long as possible and then take advantage of the 60-day grace period while finding a new job. One can change or extend status during the 60-day grace period. This would enable the terminated worker to move from the current H-1B status to the new H-1B status without needing to switch to a B-2 status."
He further stated, "However, if forced to move to B-2, the reasons for the change of status should be honest and candid. One can be in B-2 status while looking for a job. The worker does not know definitively that they will find an employer who will sponsor them back to an H-1B at the time of applying for a change to B-2 status. If an employer does subsequently employ the terminated worker and files for a change of status to H-1B, it can be credibly argued that this was not planned and one event led to another."
Batra suggested, "Filing a change of status to B-1 may be the only realistic option. Keep in mind that you have a 60-day grace period. During that time, you can try to transfer your H-1B, and remember, the new role does not have to be full-time; part-time H-1B employment can qualify. Another possible option is changing status to H-4, if your spouse holds H-1B status."
Sharma warned, "If a new employer files a petition to change status to H-1B after a B-2 change of status filing, USCIS is using the 'preconceived intent' doctrine to argue that the worker never had genuine tourist purposes, but rather filed for B-2 with the intent to find work and remain in the U.S. As a result, options for most laid-off workers have greatly narrowed."
Khanna outlined similar constraints but highlighted a financial barrier: "The typical options remain what they have always been: change to B status for temporary respite, change to F status if pursuing further education, or, if a spouse holds an H-1B, seek derivative status through the spouse's petition. What makes the current situation particularly cruel is the trap it creates for workers forced to leave the country. Under the September 2025 Proclamation, any H-1B worker who departs the United States and needs to return on a new H-1B petition faces a $100,000 fee. This does not merely disadvantage these workers; it effectively prices them out of returning."
Option to Transition Not Formally Withdrawn but Interpreted Strictly
Importantly, while the option to transition to B-1/B-2 status has not been formally withdrawn, its interpretation appears to be shifting. Batra noted, "There’s no new guidance from USCIS. Even though it's archived on the USCIS website, the regulations and the USCIS Policy Manual haven’t changed."
Khanna pointed to the lack of clarity: "The Biden administration had published a helpful policy statement. No replacement guidance has been issued. It is a mystery wrapped inside bureaucratic ambiguity."
Sharma described the current environment as uncertain: "To my understanding, no new formal policy memorandum has been issued to replace it. It does seem to be a 'no-man's land', where actions once considered permissible are now subject to intense, unpredictable scrutiny. This sudden ambiguity is precisely what has given rise to the current wave of RFEs and denials, as USCIS is essentially applying a new, unwritten standard of review."
For Indian nationals, who constitute the largest share of H-1B visa holders, the implications are significant, as the Trump administration continues to narrow options for H-1B workers.
