H-1B visa fraud probe intensifies debate over skilled workers

A new nationwide fraud investigation by the Department of Labor’s internal watchdog is sharpening an already heated fight over the H-1B visa program, as the Trump administration, congressional Republicans and business groups clash over how the system should work.

The H-1B program is designed to help employers fill high-skilled jobs with foreign workers. But the program is facing pressure on several fronts: a federal probe into alleged abuse, a $100,000 fee on new applications that remains in effect pending appeal, and congressional proposals that would sharply reduce or even suspend the visa pathway.

On July 8, the Labor Department’s inspector general announced a nationwide investigation into alleged H-1B visa fraud, wage kickback schemes and what the Department of Justice defines as labor trafficking - obtaining labor through force, fraud or coercion.

"Without a doubt" such abuses exist, Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said.

D’Esposito said his office has issued dozens of subpoenas tied to the investigation. His office has not identified any employers, staffing firms, immigration consultants, lawyers or others who have been targeted. The OIG did not respond to requests for clarification.

As an example of the kind of employer the office is examining, D’Esposito cited IT company Cognizant during a Fox Business interview, although the company has not been accused of visa fraud. In 2024, Cognizant was found liable for intentionally discriminating against non-Indian and South Asian workers.

Earlier enforcement and recent cases

The last broad H-1B visa fraud crackdown came in 2009, when federal prosecutors announced the arrest of 11 people across seven states. Those cases involved employers, recruiters or others accused of facilitating visa fraud through fraudulent petitions, fake job offers and fabricated supporting documents.

That earlier effort was led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Justice Department, with the Labor Department’s inspector general involved but not in a major role.

More recently, in December 2024, federal prosecutors in Illinois accused immigration lawyer Gerardo Dean and an employee, Felicitas Cordero, of helping at least 148 Filipino nurses obtain H-1B and EB-2 visas by submitting fraudulent documents and misrepresenting the jobs as manager-level positions. Cordero pleaded guilty in February.

The EB-2 is an employment-based pathway to a green card.

A 2024 report by Bloomberg News also found what it described as "massive cheating" by IT staffing companies that manipulated the H-1B lottery by filing multiple registrations for the same worker through affiliated companies. Bloomberg estimated that roughly 1 in 6 H-1B visas awarded in 2023 was obtained that way. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services changed the lottery system in 2024 to select unique applicants, and duplicate entries fell by 88%.

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Fee fight adds pressure

The current Labor Department investigation is tied to a taskforce President Donald Trump created in March to coordinate investigations into fraud in federal benefits programs.

At the same time, the administration has tried to make the H-1B program less attractive to employers by raising the cost of hiring foreign workers. Trump imposed a $100,000 fee on new H1-B visa applications to discourage employers from hiring foreign workers over American citizens. The fee does not apply to foreign students already in the U.S. who then take jobs there.

Arizona, led by Attorney General Kris Mayes, joined 20 states in suing to block the fee. A federal judge in Boston struck it down on June 8 but allowed USCIS to continue collecting it pending appeal.

"This illegal tax threatened our rural school districts, our growing semiconductor industry, and Arizona’s entire economy", Mayes said in a statement.

The source article said Arizona school districts have relied on international teachers, many on H-1B visas, to address ongoing teacher shortages.

Congress pushes competing changes

In Congress, some Republicans are seeking a major rollback. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Oro Valley, introduced legislation in April that would suspend the H-1B program for three years and then cut it from 65,000 visas per year to 25,000. The bill, called the "End H-1B Visa Abuse Act", would also bar recipients from bringing dependents and would codify Trump’s $100,000 visa fee.

The H-1B program has been "hijacked to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor", co-sponsor Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Bullhead City, said in a statement. "If a company can hire an American, they should."

Other House Republicans have also proposed abolishing the program or significantly restructuring it, though those bills, like Crane’s, remain in committee.

A separate bipartisan Senate proposal from Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois would prioritize high-value candidates instead of relying on a lottery. The Department of Homeland Security announced a shift away from a lottery in December.

"I think what Congress is trying to address is less migrant workers coming to the U.S.", Arizona-based immigration lawyer Juan Roche said. "It’s easier to hit the lowest hanging fruit, which is the immigrant."

He said that companies, many of which donate to political campaigns, do not want the visa restricted.

"It hasn’t changed because it works for corporate America", he said.

Business groups warn against added barriers

Arizona business groups said they support stronger enforcement against fraud but warned that additional limits could make it harder to meet hiring needs.

Steven Zylstra, president and chief executive of the Arizona Technology Council, said H-1B workers account for a small share of Arizona’s workforce but "employers must have access to the world’s best talent when qualified U.S. workers are not available."

"We don’t want an already complicated visa process to become even more difficult to navigate", said Annie Dockendorff, a spokesperson for Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The tech industry is also continuing to press Congress to expand the program. In January, Technet - whose members include Meta, Microsoft, Apple, TSMC and other major employers - called for changes to better align the number of visas with demand. The group argued that "limiting legal employment-based immigration undermines America’s economic and national security interests."

As the Labor Department’s fraud probe widens and lawmakers press competing visions for the program, the H-1B system remains under scrutiny from both critics who want it scaled back and employers who say it still fills jobs they cannot otherwise staff.

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