In a recent decision, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) withdrew a Revocation of an H-1B petition issued by the California Service Center (CSC). The CSC Director sent a revocation of the H-petition, noting that since the Beneficiary of the H-1B petition was in J-2 status as a dependent of a J-1 spouse. The J-1 visa holder who the Beneficiary was accompanying had not yet completed requirements that would make him eligible to change to H-1B status, so the CSC decided that the initial approval of the H-1B petition was a “gross error” and revoked the petition.
The AAO ultimately determined that the H-1B regulations regarding revocation of a petition at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(l1)(iii) did not authorize USCIS to revoke a petition for this reason and thus the H-1B petition and the Beneficiary’s change of status from J-2 to H-1B remained valid.
