Federal officials will close public comments at 10:59 p.m. Central time Friday on a proposal to strengthen oversight of H-1B and other foreign-worker visa extensions, as investigations in North Texas raise questions about whether hundreds of previously approved petitions involved legitimate jobs and operating businesses.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed on October 14 to end the requirement that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) generally defer to previous eligibility decisions when extension petitions involve the same parties and underlying facts. Officers can already depart from earlier decisions when they identify material errors, material changes, or new adverse information.
DHS argues that the change would strengthen oversight and protect American workers by reducing the risk that employers carry false information from an initial approval into subsequent filings.
Employers would still bear the burden of demonstrating eligibility. For American workers, the proposal raises a broader question: whether more rigorous federal oversight can prevent employers from using questionable visa petitions to gain access to foreign labor at the expense of qualified U.S. workers.
Why Dallas Matters
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito announced on August 13 that investigators visited Dallas locations tied to companies with hundreds of approved H-1B petitions.
At one multistory building associated with more than 500 approved applications, investigators encountered locked doors, dark offices, and scant evidence of active business operations.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced on April 30 that his office had issued civil investigative demands to nearly 30 North Texas businesses suspected of H-1B visa fraud. His office sought employee records, financial statements, and information about business operations. Neither announcement establishes that every company or petition involved fraud.
Federal Inspections Expose Gaps In H-1B Oversight
DHS estimates that the proposed change could generate approximately 6,044 additional requests for evidence annually across affected petition categories. Its analysis of the 2017 removal of deference found a 2.9-percentage-point relative increase in evidence requests, but no corresponding change in denial rates.
USCIS identified fraud or noncompliance at 22.39% of H-1B sites it visited in extension cases during fiscal years 2022-2025, as The Dallas Express previously examined. The figure covers administrative and targeted visits, not the entire H-1B population.
How To Comment Before The Deadline
You can submit comments electronically under docket USCIS-2026-0529 before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time (10:59 p.m. Central) on Friday, November 13.
Go to the official Regulations.gov page for the proposal (regulations.gov/docket/USCIS-2026-0529 or the direct Federal Register notice at federalregister.gov), open the document, and click “Comment.” You can type a comment or attach supporting files (up to 20 files of 10 MB each).
Comments and materials become part of the public record. The proposal does not cancel existing visas or immediately change the current regulation. DHS must consider public feedback before issuing any final rule.
For North Texas, where state and federal investigators have already examined businesses connected to hundreds of H-1B approvals, the next test will extend beyond the proposed rule itself: whether federal authorities can identify questionable petitions, hold employers accountable for violations, and protect the integrity of a visa program that Congress established to meet specialized workforce needs.
