Court Upholds Mandate for New H-1B Petitions After Worker Moves

A 2015 requirement that employers file new paperwork with the government when foreign workers on H-1B visas change locations survived an information technology trade group’s federal appeals court challenge.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held Tuesday that US Citizenship and Immigration Services—which administers the H-1B specialty occupation visa program under the Immigration and Nationality Act—has the authority to require new visa petitions when an employee changes work sites.

Employer obligations don’t end once USCIS approves a visa petition, the appeals court found. “And ensuring that the employer keeps its promises thus falls squarely within ...