In an unexpected and deeply concerning move, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun issuing Requests for Evidence (RFEs) in H-1B and employment-based immigrant petitions that ask the petitioner for biometric data and detailed residential histories.

This sudden and unprecedented procedural shift has triggered alarms throughout the immigration law community, with attorneys warning that these new RFEs not only deviate from longstanding procedures, but that they also are indicative of a deeper transformation in the role and behavior of USCIS under the Trump administration. The move does come on the heels of an aggressive expansion of AI into high-risk areas of federal surveillance and enforcement that lacks oversight, transparency, and accountability, as Biometric Update reported this week.

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