Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced an investigation into H-1B visa fraud, human trafficking, and abuse in the labor certification program for H-1B workers seeking green cards. The effort follows the Trump administration ramping up its war on fraud, led by Vice President JD Vance and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
The investigation comes after discoveries of fraudulent applications, exploitation of foreign workers through coercive wage agreements, and efforts to flood the U.S. economy with below-wage labor. According to the DOL, “These abuses undermine the integrity of Department of Labor programs designed to address genuine labor shortages — not to line the pockets of bad actors at the expense of American jobs …The [Office of Inspector General] is determined to root out every scheme that preys on vulnerable workers and take jobs from American workers.”
FAIR has long advocated for reforms to the H-1B visa program, which has drifted substantially from its original intent. Today, the program is regularly exploited to displace American workers, largely in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, with foreign workers willing to accept worse working conditions and lower wages. Despite consistently claiming that they do not have enough workers, top tech companies like Apple and Google routinely use mass layoffs to replace U.S. workers with cheaper, but no more skilled, H-1B workers. According to FAIR’s analysis, in 2023, 9.3 million U.S. residents with STEM degrees were working in non-STEM jobs while another 2.2 million were unemployed.
FAIR is currently supporting legislative measures that would institute critical reforms to the H-1B visa system and close loopholes that displace American workers in favor of cheap foreign labor. Those bills include Sen. Jim Banks’ (R-Ind.) American Tech Workforce Act, which would replace the H-1B lottery with a wage-based system, raise the visa wage floor, and end the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program; and Congressman Chip Roy’s (R-Texas) American White Collar Worker Jobs Act, which, along with similar provisions, would end the program’s use as a pathway to permanent residency and place H-1B restrictions on companies that recently laid off workers.
FAIR looks forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration and Congress to advance policies that put American workers first. To read FAIR’s one-pager on the H-1B visa program and needed reforms, click here. To read FAIR’s one-pager on OPT, click here.