‘It’s not just drugs and thugs anymore’: Immigration lawyers say H-1B employers under tough Labor Department investigation

Since last year, the Labor Department has stepped up its investigations of H-1B employers.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of Labor has stepped up investigations into employers using the H-1B program to hire foreign workers and is conducting on-site inspections to ask employers complex technical questions. According to data cited by Bloomberg, the Department of Labor’s H-1B investigation caseload has increased by 48% since the launch of the “Firewall Program.” Launched last year, the program aims to ensure that the H-1B visa program is not abused and protects the rights, wages and employment opportunities of American workers. The department also uses artificial intelligence to help find vulnerabilities. Immigration lawyer Kevin Andrews said investigative officers were no longer just looking at drugs and thugs, they were looking for high-tech violations. Nandini Nair, another immigration lawyer, told Bloomberg that some companies undergo site inspections every time they file a new H-1B petition. These officials typically ask for more information about the specific candidate they are filing a petition for, but then they ask for immigration and payroll records for all employees. Another attorney, Brian Coughlin, told Bloomberg that the answers given on the website were being compared to those given in the petition. Any mismatch could send a red flag to the government, he said. “No one can prepare for this other than understanding that they shouldn’t be free to answer questions when it comes to minimum requirements or anything else,” he said. “It’s best to slow down and look at the submissions to make sure the government gets the right information and a consistent message.”This year, for the first time, the H-1B lottery is based on salary rather than a random draw. USCIS has also modified Form I-129 to ask employers questions about job requirements, including education, years of experience, technical skills and supervisory roles.The intense investigation comes as the H-1B visa program has become the most controversial because it is a three-year work visa that is renewable and serves as a path to a green card. Influential people in the United States have spoken out against the visa program, claiming that companies are laying off Americans because they can hire H-1B visas at cheaper wages.