On January 17, 2025, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)’s H-1B modernization regulation took effect, covering several H-1B-related subjects (89 FR 103054, 12/18/24). In this blog post, we take a closer look at the regulation’s provisions relating to USCIS investigations and worksite visits to enforce H-1B compliance, at 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(i)(B)(2). This updates our prior blog posts in 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2024 on H-1B worksite visits.
Summary
The final rule delineates USCIS’s authority and companies’ compliance requirements for H-1B site inspections. Per the Final Rule, USCIS at any time after filing of the petition, including after petition approval, may conduct unannounced site visits, hold interviews of petitioners, beneficiaries, or third parties without the presence of counsel, and may perform investigations to verify that the information in the H-1B petition is/was true. Failure or refusal to cooperate in a site visit may result in denial or revocation of the H-1B petitions of any H-1B workers at the work site in question. Most details of the site-visit regulation are codifications of pre-existing USCIS practice from 2009 to the present.
No advance notice of site visit
The regulation allows USCIS to perform on-site inspections, without notice, as needed to verify the facts asserted in an H-1B petition. To be prepared for an unannounced site visit, employers may wish to instruct their reception staff on a protocol to follow.
