The US asks for the first time for home addresses, H-1B applicants: ‘extremely unusual’

In a new problem for H -1B applicants, the federal immigrant officer is asking for H -1B and for home addresses and biometrics for employment -based immigrant petitions, which immigrant lawyers feel that is highly uncommon, because biometrics are not required. Immigrant officers are issuing requests for evidence for this data.
A request for evidence is a formal notice issued by the USCIS when additional documents are required to evaluate a petition. This cannot be seen as an refusal, but a standard part of the process if there is any difference in applications. According to the USCIS guidelines, an RFE should clearly underline which eligibility criteria have not been met, tell why existing materials are insufficient, and suggest what can help in meeting the needs.
These requests are quite common if there is a missing document, the project details lack discrepancies or a lack of supporting evidence.

Is it targeting H-1BS amid cracks on immigrants?

Vik Goel of Immigration Law firm Goel and Anderson told Forbes that this is highly uncommon because biometrics are usually not necessary for these case types. “RFEs also fail to explain the nature of adverse information, leave employers and lawyers in the dark. It appears that DHS. [Department of Homeland Security] Possibly from social media or other government databases, AI tools can be used to flagged individuals based on undisclosed data. ,
According to Forbes, USCIS Adjudicator wrote in a request for evidence, “We have faced potentially adverse information related to the beneficiary. To process our application or petition, we need an updated address for the beneficiary so that we can collect biometric data.”
The “adverse information” also runs away with action on immigrants by the Trump administration. State Secretary Marco Rubio recently said that making America safe means to cancel the visa in case of danger. Rubio said, “US visa holders should know without any uncertain words that the rigorous security of the US government does not end after the visa is given.”