A crackdown on US employers hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas has been initiated by US officials. In order to protect American jobs and guarantee the employment of vital foreign workers in the United States, the Department of Labor has launched 175 investigations into possible abuses of the H-1B visa program.
In order 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.
In order to hold businesses responsible and defend the rights of American workers, the DOL is utilizing Secretary-certified investigations and other H-1B-related investigations as crucial weapons in Project Firewall.
Violations may result in the collection of back wages owed to affected workers, the assessment of civil money penalties, and/or debarment from future use of the H-1B program for a prescribed period of time.
USCIS already has the power to combat fraud in US employment-based immigration programs, focusing on deterrence and detection across all immigration sectors.
USCIS has been conducting random administrative site visits aimed at ensuring compliance with H-1B nonimmigrant classification requirements by verifying wages, job duties, and work locations of H-1B workers.
The purpose is to identify employers abusing the system, not to target non-immigrant employees for criminal or administrative action.
USCIS also determines if workers are not being paid while in the United States as they wait for projects or work, a practice known as “benching” which violates U.S. immigration laws.
A more targeted approach of USCIS is when it focuses on H-1B-dependent employers, those who have a high ratio of H-1B workers as compared to U.S. workers, as defined by statute.
The bigger focus is also on US employers petitioning for H-1B workers who work off-site at another company or organization’s location.
Targeted site visits also help USCIS determine whether H-1B-dependent employers who normally must meet H-1B recruitment attestation requirements are actually paying their workers the statutorily required salary to qualify for an exemption from these requirements.
These site visits assist in determining if these employers are evading their obligation to make a good faith effort to recruit U.S. workers and not to displace U.S. workers.
Targeted site visits will allow USCIS to focus resources where fraud and abuse of the H-1B program may be more likely to occur. USCIS continues to make unannounced and random visits to all H-1B employers across the country, both before and after any petition is adjudicated.
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). Also, if 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, it is a case of fraud.
Other examples of a H-1B fraud includes — If 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 or if the H-1B worker has less experience than U.S. workers in similar positions in the same company or if the H-1B worker is not working in the intended location as certified on the LCA.
The H-1B visa program is intended to help U.S. companies recruit highly-skilled foreign workers when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country.
US authorities believe that even though many American workers who are as qualified, willing, and deserving to work in these fields have been ignored or unfairly disadvantaged. US employers who abuse the H-1B visa program may negatively affect U.S. workers, decreasing wages and opportunities as they import more foreign workers.