In the week of October 19–25, 2026, Cloudera received a two-year PERM debarment and roughly $3.4 million in penalties, H1B extension processing climbed to 11.5 months, and the State Department reported revoking more than 300,000 visas since January 2025.
In short
- Cloudera received a two-year PERM debarment and will pay $1.4 million in compensation to American workers who were wrongly rejected.
- Cloudera’s actual ban will last longer than two years — the clock only starts once every application filed through the unmonitored email has been withdrawn.
- H1B extension processing has climbed to 11.5 months — nearly double the old average of 5.1 months.
- The 240-day rule can run out before USCIS decides an H1B extension — plan ahead.
- The State Department has revoked more than 300,000 visas since January 2025, with the pace of revocations up fivefold.
Cloudera Gets a Two-Year PERM Debarment: What Happened
The Department of Labor and the Department of Justice reached a settlement with Cloudera over fraud in the PERM program. Under the settlement terms, the company will pay $1.4 million in back wages to American workers who were unfairly rejected during candidate review, plus a penalty whose exact size, based on available reporting, ranges from roughly $600,000 to about $2 million.
The violation was built into how the company ran its PERM hiring process. Cloudera routed candidate responses for PERM positions through a separate email address that was never published on its regular careers pages. When job seekers or employers sent applications to that address, the messages landed in an inbox that nobody monitored and went unanswered. In effect, American workers were denied any real chance to be considered for these positions — a direct violation of PERM program requirements.
In effect, American workers were denied any real chance to be considered for these positions — a direct violation of PERM program requirements.
As part of the settlement, Cloudera must withdraw every PERM application tied to that unmonitored address.
Cloudera routed responses to PERM job postings through a non-public email address nobody monitored — American candidates had effectively no way to apply.
Terms of the Settlement: Debarment, Oversight, and Resuming Hiring
The settlement terms break down into several separate sanctions that overlap in timing:
- 180-day PERM suspension — announced back in May, this was the first measure imposed before the final settlement.
- Two-year PERM debarment — the main sanction resulting from the settlement.
- 24-month ban that starts counting not from the settlement date but from the date of the last withdrawn PERM application. Since the company still has to withdraw every application filed through the unmonitored email address, the actual length of the ban will run longer than two years.
- Three-year independent oversight — once the program resumes, Cloudera must bring in an independent body to monitor its PERM process for three years.
To even become eligible to resume the program, the company has to meet a set of conditions: withdraw every application filed outside the normal process, and going forward, post PERM vacancies the same way every other employer does — through standard careers pages, with no separate email addresses for collecting responses.
Cloudera’s Sanctions on a Timeline
The measures overlap and don’t line up with the settlement date.
- PERM suspension180 daysAnnounced in May, before the final settlement
- PERM debarment2 yearsThe main sanction from the settlement
- Actual ban length2+ yearsCounted from the date the last PERM application is withdrawn
- Independent oversight3 yearsAfter the program resumes
The 24-month debarment doesn’t start on the settlement date — it starts once the last PERM application has been withdrawn. Until all applications are withdrawn, the clock hasn’t started.
What This Means for Cloudera Employees — and Whether It Affects H1B
For Cloudera employees, the path to a permanent green card is paused for the next two years — that’s the length of time the settlement with the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice covers. The settlement applies only to PERM programs and does not touch H1B: H1B status and the H1B extension process for the company’s employees remain unchanged, and the settlement introduces no additional restrictions on that visa.
H1B Processing Times Climb to 11.5 Months
Current H1B processing times are published on the USCIS website separately for each service center (California, Vermont, Nebraska, Texas); the figures below are averaged benchmarks:
| Application type | Processing time |
|---|---|
| H1B extension | about 11.5 months |
| Consular processing | about 11 months |
| Change of employer | about 10 months |
These figures cover 80% of cases rather than the median, which is why they can’t be compared directly to USCIS’s historical figures, which were calculated differently. For comparison: the average processing time for non-premium H1B applications used to be 5.1 months; actual processing times now fall in the range of roughly 10 to 11.5 months — nearly double what they used to be.
For an H1B worker planning an extension through their employer, this means budgeting for a realistic 10 to 11.5 months rather than the old timelines — especially given the restriction on working once the visa’s validity period has expired.
The 240-Day Rule for H1B Extensions
The 240-day rule allows a worker to keep working for their current employer after filing an H1B extension application, but only for 240 days from the date the previous status expired — after that, the right to keep working for the current employer under the 240-day rule ends, even if a decision on the application still hasn’t been made. The 240-day rule exists precisely for cases where USCIS doesn’t manage to issue a decision before the visa expires: it gives the employee a legal basis to keep working while the application is pending, but not indefinitely. With extension processing times running around 11.5 months, this limit becomes critical: the 240 days run out before USCIS gets to a decision, and the employee risks ending up without authorization to work before a decision is made. Because of this, it’s worth planning an extension well in advance with the employer, rather than facing a decision that has to be made at the last minute.
the 240 days run out before USCIS gets to a decision, and the employee risks ending up without authorization to work before a decision is made
With extension processing around 11.5 months, work authorization under the 240-day rule often expires before USCIS reaches a decision.
Because of the gap between processing times and the 240-day rule, H1B extensions should be filed well in advance together with the employer.
Is Premium Processing for H1B Actually Working Right Now
The stated premium processing timeframe for H1B formally remains within about a month, though it has lengthened compared to past figures. The problem isn’t the stated timeframe itself — it’s that it isn’t always honored in practice: according to reports from professional communities, some applications filed for expedited processing aren’t being processed within the stated window and instead get placed on hold. In these cases, USCIS refunds the premium processing fee — but that means the applicant is left without the expedited handling they paid for in the first place.
USCIS refunds the premium processing fee — but that means the applicant is left without the expedited handling they paid for in the first place
For anyone planning an H1B extension through their employer, this means premium processing shouldn’t be counted on as a guaranteed way to meet a tight deadline — it’s more realistic to plan around the standard processing times discussed above.
More Than 300,000 U.S. Visas Revoked: What’s Known
The State Department announced on October 20 that it has revoked more than 300,000 visas since January 2025. The figure built up in stages: in November 2025 the agency first reported 80,000 revoked visas, then 100,000, then 175,000 — climbing to the current 300,000+.
The pace of revocations has accelerated several times over. In the first year after the campaign launched, the rate held at around 360 revoked visas per day; over the last couple of months it has risen to roughly 1,760 per day — a fivefold acceleration. The State Department does not publish a breakdown by visa type or applicant category: the only publicly stated criterion is involvement in a law violation or contact with law enforcement.
A separate wave was mentioned from January 2026, when about 8,000 student visas were revoked over overstaying — an episode that caused problems for many students.
Pace of Visa Revocations Up Fivefold
Daily revocation counts at the start of the campaign versus now.
- Revocations per day, first year360
- Revocations per day, recent months1,760
Why Visas Get Revoked and What to Do If It Happens to You
The State Department doesn’t publish a breakdown of revoked visas by visa type or applicant category, but it does name a general cause: involvement in a law violation or contact with law enforcement. DUI (driving under the influence) and any arrest — even without a subsequent charge — fall within the risk zone.
If a visa is revoked while you’re already outside the U.S., re-entering on the old visa won’t work — you’ll need a new visa stamp from a consulate. In that situation, the legal advice is consistent: consult an immigration attorney and address the specific basis for the revocation, rather than trying to re-enter and hope for the best.
A separate effort targets visa fraud. In September, the State Department launched a portal where anyone can report suspected fraud involving any visa category — tourist, work, or student. Reporting requires filling out a designated form. Filing this kind of complaint used to be harder technically; now anyone, not just relevant agencies, can report suspected fraud online.
Re-entering on the old visa won’t work — you’ll need a new stamp from a consulate. It’s best to consult an immigration attorney right away rather than attempt to re-enter and hope for the best.
November 2026 Visa Bulletin: What Changed for EB Categories
The new Visa Bulletin reflects data collected through October 5 and takes effect November 1, 2026. For filing this month, applicants need to go by the Dates for Filing chart — no category in employment-based immigration moved backward.
| Category / country | Movement in the bulletin |
|---|---|
| EB1 (except China and India) | current category, no backlog |
| EB2 (except China and India) | date advanced by about 3 months |
| EB3 (except China and India) | date advanced by about 1 month — the category was previously current |
| EB1, China | minimal advance — about one month |
| EB3, China | advance of about 2 weeks |
| EB1 and EB2, India | no movement |
| EB3, India | advance of about 3 weeks |
Movement across all categories was described as minor; more noticeable shifts aren’t expected until next month at the earliest.
There were no additional mass releases of H1B slots this week — only isolated cases. Given how unpredictable the wait has become, travel outside the U.S. is currently advised only when truly necessary.
Among other processes that remain unchanged this week: the duration-of-status dispute and the CPT lawsuit are still working their way through the courts, the PERM suspension remains in effect, and the proposed $70,000 OPT fee is still in its public comment period.
Frequently asked questions
Can Cloudera employees switch employers now and restart PERM through a new sponsor?
The settlement addresses a debarment from the PERM program specifically for Cloudera as the employer, not a personal ban on the employee. This means the PERM process through Cloudera is blocked for the duration of the sanctions, but the restriction itself applies to the sponsoring company, not to the status of any individual worker.
How do you find out if your visa has been revoked?
The State Department doesn’t publish a breakdown by visa type and doesn’t notify people individually through any open channel mentioned here: the only publicly stated criterion for revocation is involvement in a law violation or contact with law enforcement. In practice, people most often find out at the moment they try to re-enter the U.S. or apply for a new visa stamp at a consulate.
Do you have to report visa fraud through the new portal if another agency already knows about it?
The State Department portal launched in September accepts reports of fraud involving any visa category from anyone, not just relevant agencies. It’s an additional channel that made filing a complaint technically easier — it doesn’t replace existing ways of contacting other agencies.
What happens if the 240-day rule runs out and a decision on H1B still hasn’t been made?
Once 240 days have passed since the previous status expired, the right to keep working for the current employer under this rule ends, even if USCIS is still reviewing the application. The employee is left without a legal basis to work until a decision comes through, which is why it’s worth planning an extension well in advance with the employer, rather than being forced into a last-minute decision.
Should you plan travel outside the U.S. right now with an H1B extension pending?
Given how unpredictable the wait has become, and with no mass releases of additional H1B slots happening, travel outside the U.S. is currently advised only when truly necessary. This matters especially given longer H1B extension processing times and the risk of losing work authorization once the 240 days run out.
Can you get a refund for premium processing if your application gets put on hold?
Yes — in these cases, USCIS refunds the premium processing fee. But that doesn’t solve the timing problem: the applicant is left without the expedited handling they paid for, and effectively falls back to standard processing times.
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