The H-1B visa program should provide U.S. companies highly-skilled foreign workers to improve U.S. shortage of qualified specialists in different fields. Unfortunately, many immigrants who are qualified and willing to work have been ignored. Combating fraud can protect such specialists, it is an urgent question for USCIS.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proclaimed multiple measures to further deter and detect H-1B visa fraud and abuse.
From this moment, USCIS will take a more targeted schedule of site visits across the country to H-1B applicants and the worksites of H-1B employees. USCIS will work on:
- Cases where USCIS cannot approve the employer’s basic business information through commercially available data;
- H-1B-dependent employers (those having a high ratio of H1B employees as compared to U.S. workers); and
- Employers petitioning for H-1B workers who work off-site at another company or organization’s location.
Such visits will help to concentrate resources to prevent fraud and abuse of the H-1B program, and as well find out if employers are keep their obligation when recruit U.S. workers. USCIS will keep random and sudden visits nationwide. But it should be noticed, such site visits aim to identify employers who are abusing the law, not employees.
Random administrative site visits have been held since 2009 by USCIS, to check if employers and foreign workers restrain the requirements of the H-1B program. To make a report about possible fraud or abuse one should submit Form WH-4 to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division or by completing ICE’s HSI Tip Form.
