This time is becoming very challenging for H-1B visa holders working in America. While the employees fired from the job have been given a 60-day grace period to change the new job or visa status, on the other hand the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started sending notice to appear (NTA) within this period. According to the report of Pew Research, the most H-1B visa in America is given to Indians. Out of the H-1B visa holders approved in 2023, about three-fourths (73%) were the people of India. China was at number two, which was just 12 percent.

This is the first phase of NTA deportation proceedings and is generally released when a person is living illegally in the US, but now this notice is also being received to those who have pending applications for changing visa status.

What is NTA and why it is serious?
NTA means notice to appear is a legal document sent to appear in the immigration court. When this notice is received, it shows that exile action has been initiated on the person. Under this, action of unlawful presence starts. Visa may face difficulties in increasing the time limit or gaining green cards. Apart from this, 3 or 10 years of ban on entering America in future can also be imposed.

What do USCIS guidelines say?
According to the guidelines issued in 2025 by the USCIS, an application can be made for the change of status within the 60-day grace period. If the application is pending within this deadline, then the person should be considered in the authorized stay, until that application is decided, NTA should not be sent. However, immigration experts claim that USCIS is no longer following these guidelines and is also sending NTA to those who applied on time.

Experts warning is contrary to law
Sameer Khedekar, founder of Vangard Visa Law, said that many H-1B visa holders are getting NTA at a time when their I-539 (application of status change) is pending. At the same time, advocate Rajiv S. Khanna said that if the person has applied in time and in proper form, then he should not be considered in an illegal presence. Despite this, USCIS is releasing about 1,840 NTA every week, many of which are being released in violation of policies.

Rules regarding H-1B visa in America
Recently, the US government is going to make many necessary changes in the process of issuing H-1B visas. In relation to this, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed the weight selection process. In this, instead of lottery system, those applicants will be given a chance, whose profile will be better. Let us know that Indians have the highest number of H-1B visa holders in America. Due to this, the most impact of new changes will be on the Indian.

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Us immigration policy: The Trump administration in the US has taken a shocking decision. The Homeland Security Department (DHS) led by Trump Administration has sent the entire staff of the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Lokpal office on a long leave of 60 days. It is not being seen as a temporary change but as a strategic decision. This decision has deepened the doubt that the independent immigration inspection system is being gradually eliminated by the Trump administration.

The CIS office worked freely compared to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It used to help about 30,000 people out of immigration problems every year. Its main objective was to ensure transparency and fairness in immigration processes. However, now no department can monitor the functioning of USCIS due to temporary closure of CIS.

The most impact of this change can be on those of Indian origin who are working in America on H-1B visa or studying on F-1 visa. Both these sections are often victims of the slow process of USCIS, documentary mistakes and delay in form processing. For this, he used to resort to CIS Lokpal, which made his work easy. However, now Trump’s decision can bring a lot of difficulties for him.
H-1B visa holders trouble
When the CIS Lokpal is temporarily closed, H-1B visa holders will have to find alternative avenues to know the status of their petition or challenge the inequalities of the USCIS. However, the biggest concern is that there will be no fair or independent eye on the decision process of USCIS in the absence of Lokpal.

Reaction of immigration lawyers and MPs
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and several advocacy groups have sharply criticized the decision. He believes that this step indicates lack of transparency in the immigration system and monopoly of administrative control. Democratic MPs have specifically described the move as disregard of legal imperative, as the affected office was established with the help of CIS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties law and it cannot be removed.

What can the affected immigrants do?
After the closure of the Lokpal, there are some major options in front of the affected immigrants:

1. Contact your Congress representative: In many cases, representatives can get information directly from USCIS and get matters priority.

2. Take the help of immigration lawyer: Professional guidance is very important for especially difficult cases. The help of certified lawyers can be taken from institutions like Aila.

3. Keep detail records of all documents: Every email, letter, call log and copy of the application should be maintained so that it can be presented as evidence at any time.

4. Consider premium processing: If a visa holder is financially possible, then you can speed up the application process by taking advantage of the premium processing facility of USCIS.