USCIS intends to revoke your H-1B?
An H-1B Notice of Intent to Revoke means USCIS is reconsidering a petition it previously approved. The proposed revocation may result from a compliance review or site visit, changes in the employment, discrepancies between the petition and actual job, inaccurate petition or LCA information, failure to report a material change, registration issues, or another regulatory ground.
Send Us Your H-1B NOIRCompare the approved petition with what USCIS now believes is happening.
USCIS cannot treat every post-approval question as the same type of revocation.
Current H regulations distinguish immediate or automatic revocation from revocation on notice. A NOIR is used when USCIS proposes revocation on one of the regulatory grounds requiring notice and an opportunity for the petitioner to rebut the proposed action.
The NOIR should identify the facts USCIS now relies upon, the regulatory basis for revocation, and the discrepancies or compliance issues the agency believes undermine the approved petition.
The response should compare those allegations with the petition as filed, the actual employment arrangement, the Labor Condition Application, payroll and worksite records, amendments, contracts, and any evidence generated through a USCIS compliance review.
What does USCIS claim changed or was wrong?
The current regulation identifies several separate grounds for revocation on notice.
Beneficiary No Longer in the Approved Capacity
USCIS may seek revocation when the beneficiary is no longer employed by the petitioner in the capacity specified in the approved petition.
Incorrect, Inaccurate or Misrepresented Information
USCIS may question facts contained in the petition, H-1B registration, or Labor Condition Application and may allege inaccurate, fraudulent, or materially misrepresented information.
Violation of Approved Terms or H Requirements
A NOIR may allege that the petitioner failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the approved petition or another requirement governing H classification.
Approval Violated the Regulation or Involved Gross Error
USCIS may revisit an approval when it concludes that the approved petition itself violated the governing H regulation or involved gross error.
Required Amended Petition Was Not Timely Filed
Current regulations expressly permit revocation on notice where a petitioner failed to file a required amended petition after a material change or otherwise failed to comply with material-change reporting requirements.
H-1B Cap Registration Problems
Current rules also address invalid cap registrations and certain new or amended filings by related entities that USCIS determines were used to unfairly increase the beneficiary's chances of selection.
A site visit can create the factual record behind an H-1B NOIR.
USCIS conducts administrative compliance visits, including unannounced visits.
During a compliance review, USCIS may seek to verify the petitioner, work location, beneficiary's employment, job duties, supervision, salary, organizational structure, and other facts relevant to the approved petition.
A later NOIR may compare statements made during that visit with the Form I-129, LCA, support letter, itinerary, contracts, payroll records, worksite information, and other evidence originally submitted.
The response should identify what the officer actually observed or was told, determine whether USCIS has described those facts accurately, and explain any discrepancy in the context of the real employment arrangement.
What inconsistency is USCIS relying upon?
Job Duties Differ From the Petition
USCIS may believe the beneficiary is performing duties different from those described in the approved petition or duties inconsistent with the claimed specialty occupation.
Work Location Is Different
The beneficiary may be working at a location that does not match USCIS records or the LCA. The response should determine whether the location change was material and whether an amended filing was required.
Salary or Payroll Does Not Match
Payroll records may raise questions concerning whether the beneficiary is employed as represented and whether the wage and other terms of the approved employment are being followed.
Third-Party Placement or Client Information
USCIS may compare contracts, statements of work, client verification, actual duties, work location, and other evidence with representations made in the approved petition.
Employer or Beneficiary Statements Conflict
A site visit or interview may produce statements about duties, supervision, worksite, salary, hours, projects, or employment history that USCIS views as inconsistent with the petition.
Petition Approval Was Allegedly Erroneous
USCIS may conclude that the petition should not have been approved under the applicable H-1B requirements and seek revocation based on the regulatory gross-error ground.
Was an amended H-1B petition required?
This question now appears expressly in the H revocation regulation.
Not every H-1B revocation uses a Notice of Intent to Revoke.
The regulation separately identifies immediate and automatic revocation events.
Current H regulations provide for immediate and automatic revocation in specified circumstances, including when the petitioner goes out of business or submits a written withdrawal.
For H-1B specifically, notification from the petitioner that the beneficiary is no longer employed also triggers automatic revocation under the regulation.
By contrast, when USCIS invokes one of the revocation-on-notice grounds, the petitioner receives a NOIR and an opportunity to rebut the proposed revocation before USCIS issues a final decision.
The distinction also matters after the decision because an automatic revocation and a revocation on notice do not have identical appeal rights.
What evidence may rebut an H-1B NOIR?
Payroll & HR Records
Pay statements, payroll records, tax records, timesheets, benefits, employment records, leave records, and HR documentation may establish the actual employment arrangement.
Work Product & Project Evidence
Project records, technical materials, work product, organizational records, assignments, meeting records, and manager declarations may document what the beneficiary actually does.
Location Evidence
Leases, office records, client documentation, remote-work policies, travel records, project assignments, LCAs, and amended petitions may help establish where work occurred and why.
Contracts & Client Evidence
Contracts, statements of work, purchase orders, client letters, project documentation, and other evidence can clarify third-party assignments where they are relevant to USCIS's proposed findings.
Employer Operations
Business licenses, tax records, payroll, organizational charts, customers, contracts, revenue records, offices, and other evidence may establish the petitioner's continuing operations and employment structure.
The Approved H-1B Record
Review the actual Form I-129, LCA, support letter, amendments, responses to earlier RFEs, and approval notices before responding to USCIS's description of what was approved.
Six principles for responding to an H-1B NOIR.
Identify the Regulatory Ground
Match every USCIS allegation to the specific revocation ground rather than responding only to the narrative description.
Reconstruct the Employment Timeline
Show duties, locations, projects, compensation, amendments, and material changes chronologically.
Compare Site-Visit Findings With the Record
Determine whether USCIS's description accurately reflects what the officer observed and what the employer or beneficiary actually stated.
Document Real Employment
Use contemporaneous payroll, work product, project, client, HR, and corporate records rather than relying entirely on new declarations.
Address Material Changes Directly
If circumstances changed, explain what changed, when it changed, and whether the required amended H-1B filing was made.
Separate Error From Fraud
If USCIS alleges inaccurate information, determine whether it is a factual discrepancy, an eligibility issue, or an actual fraud or material-misrepresentation allegation.
The H-1B revocation regulation provides a short rebuttal period.
The petitioner may submit rebuttal evidence within 30 days of receipt of the NOIR.
The notice should contain a detailed statement of the proposed grounds for revocation and identify the period allowed for rebuttal.
Site-visit records, client documentation, payroll, amended petitions, contracts, organizational records, work product, and declarations may take time to assemble, so the notice should be analyzed immediately.
Follow the deadline and filing instructions contained in the actual USCIS notice.
A final revocation-on-notice decision may be appealed.
Revocation appeal deadlines are shorter than ordinary denial appeal deadlines.
Current USCIS Form I-290B procedures generally require an appeal from a revocation decision within 15 calendar days after service, or 18 calendar days when USCIS mailed the decision.
Those deadlines apply to the final revocation decision, not to the NOIR response itself. The decision should be reviewed immediately to confirm jurisdiction, standing, the precise deadline, and whether an appeal, motion, new H-1B petition, change of employer, or another strategy is appropriate.
Automatic revocations are treated differently and are not appealable under the H revocation regulation.
H-1B NOIR FAQs
Common questions after USCIS announces that it intends to revoke an approved H-1B petition.