A new proposal would stop USCIS from giving weight to its earlier approval when you extend an H-1B, L-1, O-1 or TN employee. Every extension would be reviewed like a new case. Comments close November 13. Here is how GlobalCodio helps HR teams keep each file ready.
When you extend an H-1B, L-1, O-1 or TN employee today, USCIS usually gives weight to its earlier approval. Same employer, same employee, same job - the officer starts from the view that the first decision was right.
On October 14, 2026, DHS proposed ending that. Every extension would be reviewed like a brand-new case, and the employer would have to prove again that the job and the employee still qualify. This is a proposal, not a rule yet. Public comments close on November 13, 2026.
What changes for your next extension
Today, an extension file can lean on the earlier approval. Under the proposal, it cannot. The officer would look at the job, the salary, the worksite and the employee's status as if seeing them for the first time.
That touches a lot of cases. DHS says about 208,000 petitions a year get this benefit today. Any gap in those files becomes a reason to ask for more. It is the same idea behind auditing yourself before the government does: the file has to stand on its own.
Why HR should care: more evidence requests, longer waits
The main risk is a request for more evidence (RFE). DHS expects about 6,000 more of them each year if the proposal goes ahead.
Each RFE adds time. DHS's own figures show a case with an RFE takes about two months longer to decide. For a corporate mobility team, that can mean a delayed start date, a postponed business trip or an anxious employee waiting on their status. An officer starting from scratch reads every file the way we described in building a case file that survives a skeptical reviewer - every gap becomes a question.
What USCIS will be checking
DHS points to its worksite visits as the reason for the change. It says it found more problems in extension cases while the old approach was in place. So expect the review to focus on one question: does the job still match what was approved? Same duties, same location, same pay. When the H-1B investigations began this year, we said your records are now your defense. This proposal applies that to every routine extension.
How to get ready now
Start with a list. As with the PERM suspension earlier this month, the first job is to find every affected case - every H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and E employee whose extension could be filed after a final rule. In CodioCMS that is one search, not a spreadsheet hunt.
Then keep each file current all year, not just at renewal time. In GlobalCodio, the Renewal Agent flags extensions coming up across your workforce and opens the document checklist early. The Document Validation Agent checks that pay records, job duties and worksite details still match the approved petition - the difference between extraction and validation that decides whether a file holds up. The Deadline Agent plans for a possible RFE, so two extra months do not catch anyone by surprise.
If you want your company's view on record, the comment period on regulations.gov is open until November 13.
You cannot predict the final rule. You can be ready for any version of it.
USCIS has switched this policy off and back on before - it was dropped in 2017 and restored in 2021. The final rule could match the proposal, be narrower or never arrive. The teams that will not care which way it goes are the ones whose extension files can stand on their own on the day they are filed.
That is the operation GlobalCodio builds and runs for immigration law firms and corporate HR and immigration teams - in the background, so every extension goes out complete. If your extensions still lean on the earlier approval, let's talk.