India, Oct. 15 -- Indian IT professionals working in the United States could face greater uncertainty when renewing their H-1B status under a Trump administration proposal to remove a requirement that immigration officers generally defer to previous petition approvals.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the proposal in the Federal Register on October 14, 2026, seeking to give US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers greater discretion to reassess eligibility when employers file subsequent petitions. The proposal is open for public comments until November 13, 2026, and has not yet taken effect.

According to Fragomen, the change could lead to more requests for evidence, longer processing times and a greate...