Trump administration launches H-1B visa fraud investigation

The Trump administration announced July 8 a major investigation into alleged fraud and abuse in the H-1B visa program, saying investigators are examining claims involving labor trafficking, worker exploitation, fraudulent applications, and displacement of American workers through below-wage foreign labor.

Vice President JD Vance said at a fraud-prevention event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that the U.S. Department of Labor has begun “dozens of subpoenas and investigations into foreign fraudsters” accused of taking advantage of the program.

“American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters, and the Department of Labor is fighting back against it,” Vance said.

The H-1B program allows U.S. companies to bring in foreign workers for specialty occupations that require at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. H-1B petitions may be approved for an initial period of up to three years and may generally be extended for up to three more years.

Supporters of the program — which is heavily used by large technology companies — argue that the visas help companies stay competitive, while critics say the program can suppress wages and displace American workers, Zeale News previously reported.

Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito told FOX Business earlier July 8 that the investigation would also focus on the PERM labor certification process, which allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent employment in the U.S. 

He called the probe the latest step in the administration’s anti-fraud campaign and said alleged abuse of foreign labor programs is “another example” of fraud “fueling violent crime.”

“Much of the visa and the human trafficking that we see when it comes to this foreign labor is tied to cartels, is tied to transnational gangs, and this is the work that we should be doing, not only to make America safe again, but to make America more affordable again,” D’Esposito told the outlet.

According to FOX Business, D’Esposito said the alleged fraud is not limited to traditional labor settings such as “people working in factories or actual labor.” “These are people working in medical facilities and doctors’ offices that are actually putting people in harm’s way,” he explained.

According to D’Esposito, the administration’s goal is to make sure Americans “are not seeing their jobs taken away by foreigners or people who are gaming the system or financially benefiting from bringing these individuals into America and putting them into jobs that, quite frankly, they are not qualified to do.”

The new investigation comes a month after a federal judge in Boston struck down President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee requirement for new H-1B visa applications, ruling that the administration exceeded its authority by imposing a fee that functioned as an unauthorized tax.