There is a growing media buzz around unannounced H-1B site inspections to be conducted by the US authorities. The unannounced site visits by US authorities are standard procedures for gathering information related to potential fraud.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can conduct unannounced site visits to verify compliance with U.S. immigration laws by H-1B holders and their employers. Such unannounced site visits are conducted by the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS), which falls under the USCIS’s Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program (ASVVP).
Unannounced Site Visits
Under this program, FDNS officers are authorized to make unannounced site visits to collect information as part of a compliance review, which verifies whether petitioners and beneficiaries are following the immigration laws and regulations that are applicable in a particular case.
The purpose of a site visit is to verify the information that was provided in the petition with a review of an accurate and unrehearsed view of the work being performed. Any failure or refusal to cooperate with a site visit may result in the denial or revocation of the approval of any petition for workers.
For a site visit, an officer will verify the petition information and supporting documents, confirm the existence of the petitioning organization, review public records, review related documents, interview personnel about the beneficiary’s work details, and, if necessary, speak with the beneficiary or perform inquiries electronically.
This process includes researching information in government databases, reviewing public records and evidence accompanying the petition, interviewing the petitioner or beneficiary, and conducting site visits.
Once the FDNS officers complete the site visit, they write a Compliance Review Report for any indicators of fraud or noncompliance to assist USCIS in final adjudicative decisions.
Examples of H-1B fraud indicators may include:
The H-1B worker is not or will not be paid the wage certified on the Labor Condition Application (LCA).
There is a wage disparity between H-1B workers and other workers performing the same or similar duties, particularly to the detriment of U.S. workers.
The H-1B worker is not performing the duties specified in the H-1B petition, including when the duties are at a higher level than the position description.
The H-1B worker has less experience than U.S. workers in similar positions in the same company.
The H-1B worker is not working in the intended location as certified on the LCA.
Project Firewall
In September, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin wrote letters to top US companies, raising questions on their hiring practices.
In November, a crackdown on US employers hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas was initiated by US officials. To protect American jobs and guarantee the employment of vital foreign workers in the United States, the Department of Labor had launched 175 investigations into possible abuses of the H-1B visa program.
To prevent firms from abusing the H1B visa program for hiring foreign workers and to guarantee that qualified Americans are given priority for job vacancies, the DOL created Project Firewall earlier in September. For the first time in the department’s history, the Secretary of Labor personally certified the start of investigations.