The H-1B visa programme could see major changes over the next year as the Donald Trump administration expands a nationwide investigation into alleged foreign-labour fraud, worker exploitation and possible human trafficking.
US Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito has warned that the foreign-labour visa system could look very different a year from now, pointing to tougher checks and enforcement against companies and practices that investigators believe have misused the programme.
“I think that the foreign labor visa program is going to look very different 365 days from now than it does today,” D’Esposito said in an interview posted by Benny Johnson on X.
‘We are building a case’
D’Esposito said the investigation goes beyond paperwork and administrative violations. Federal authorities, he said, are working to build a wider case around abuses of the foreign-labour system.
“This is not a paperwork accounting issue; this is real,” he said.
D’Esposito added that investigators were “laying out our case” and using significant resources to show the American public what they believe is happening.
“The real sign is going to be us holding these people accountable, holding the companies accountable, whether it’s civil penalties and obviously holding those accountable who are breaking the law. And for those people, we have plenty of sets of handcuffs ready for them.”
The Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General has already taken enforcement action as part of the investigation. On September 18, the agency said investigators had issued dozens of subpoenas and carried out search warrants at multiple locations.
“We have a FBI director that flat out has told us there is no state you can hide in, there’s no country you can hide in, there’s no continent that you can hide in. We will send agents and we will find you and we will extradite you back to the United States of America,” D’Esposito told Johnson.
The department also said visa applications involving IT services company and software firm had been suspended while a criminal investigation was underway.
‘Fake employers’, ‘sham jobs’ under scrutiny
D’Esposito has separately warned that the government will take a tougher approach to the H-1B system. In a post on X, he wrote: “A secure border means locking every door, including the H-1B back door.”
He also referred to alleged “fake employers”, “sham jobs”, “visa mills” and the exploitation of workers as part of the issues being investigated.
The probe is focusing on global IT service providers, enterprise software companies and third-party staffing agencies that place contracted workers at client locations.
Several well-known IT companies are facing closer scrutiny, including checks of their Labor Condition Applications and the placement of workers with third-party clients. Meanwhile, visa processing for some companies has been suspended while investigations are underway.
White House links H-1B checks to US layoffs
The enforcement drive comes alongside new measures from the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to consider whether an employer has laid off similarly situated American workers when reviewing applications, petitions, visas and decisions on entry into the US.
The order does not abolish the H-1B programme. It also does not automatically prevent every company that has carried out layoffs from hiring H-1B workers.
Trump has also extended the $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B petitions through September 2027, with narrow exceptions based on national interest.
The White House says the policy has already had an impact on large IT staffing and outsourcing companies. According to the administration, H-1B registrations from the biggest firms in the sector fell from 24,946 to 2,055, a 92% drop.
JD Vance says H-1B should not mean cheaper labour
Vice President JD Vance explained the administration’s position on the All-In Podcast earlier this month.
Vance said the administration was taking action through executive and administrative measures because Congress did not have the political will to change the law.
“The H-1B should not exist to replace American workers with low-wage foreigners,” he said.
Vance also said companies should not lay off American workers and then look overseas for foreign workers to fill the same roles.
He acknowledged that the administration has faced lawsuits over some of its measures but said he was confident about both the legal and policy arguments behind them.