Is It My Imagination or Is USCIS Issuing More RFEs and Denials in H-1b Petitions?

For businesses that employ highly-skilled foreign national in H-1B status, it may have seemed like the number of Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and denials issued by USCIS has increased – a lot. Is this just the experience of a few employers going through a “rough patch” with USCIS, or is it indicative of a trend? This month the American Immigration Council (AIC) published data that answers this question definitively: the numbers of RFEs and denial by USCIS has increased greatly.

According to AIC, USCIS data through June 2019 shows a steep increase in denials and RFEs for H-1B petitions. The RFE rate has increased by 78% in the last 5 years, reaching nearly 40% (meaning that 40% of all of the H-1B filings get an RFE) in the first three quarters of FY 2019 as compared to 22% in FY 2015. Seeking additional documents to prove that a petition is approvable may seem insignificant, but it adds months to an employer’s hiring plan.

After an employer has responded to an RFE, CIS must make a decision. Unfortunately, denials are on the increase. In the first three quarters of FY 2019, CIS denied 16.1% of initial H-1B petitions. This denial rate is nearly four times higher than it was in FY 2015.