An RFE isn't the end of your case.

If you filed an H-1B this year, brace yourself. A last-minute form change made this the strangest season I've seen, and RFEs are coming. If you get one, here's what it actually means.

First, an RFE is not a denial.

It feels like one. But all it is, is the government telling you it isn't convinced yet, and asking for more. There's still a real path to approval from here.

The reason I expect more of them this year is the form change the government made at the last minute. It forces employers to spell out experience and skills they never had to state before, which gives the government more to question. More questions, more RFEs.

On an H-1B, an RFE almost always lands on one of three things.

(1) Specialty occupation. They're asking you to prove the position genuinely requires at least a bachelor's degree in a related field. A role that doesn't clearly require that degree is where most RFEs live.

(2) The wage level. They may argue the level you chose doesn't match the position, and they almost always push to say it should be higher. You answer by showing the level fits the actual role.

(3) The employer. Is the company real, active, able to pay the salary? Startups get this one most, and the answer is documentation: that the business exists, has revenue, has a place for the person to work.

These responses are more technical than they look, and the form change made them more so. I've seen companies file on their own, and now with AI I expect more will try.

But that's exactly the moment to bring in an attorney. An RFE isn't the end of your case. Handled right, it's just one more step to approval.