DOL launches 175 H-1B visa abuse investigations to protect American jobs

FIRST ON FOX: The Division of Labor has revealed that it has launched not less than 175 ongoing investigations concentrating on potential abuses inside the H-1B visa program as a part of its mission to guard American jobs and be sure that solely important overseas employees are employed within the US.

The DOL launched Undertaking Firewall in September to make sure employers prioritize certified Individuals for job openings and do not abuse the H1B visa program, which permits U.S. corporations to rent overseas employees in specialised occupations.

The aggressive federal crackdown on potential abuse of this system contains Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer personally certifying the beginning of investigations — a mechanism the division has by no means used earlier than, Fox Digital discovered.

“The Division of Labor is utilizing each software at the moment at our disposal to finish the abuse of H-1B visas, and for the primary time, I’m personally certifying investigations into suspected violations to higher shield American jobs,” Chavez-DeRemer informed Fox Information Digital in a press release.

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United States President Donald Trump speaks within the Oval Workplace of the White Home on October 6, 2025 in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures)

“Beneath President Trump’s management, we are going to proceed to put money into our workforce, guaranteeing that high-skilled jobs go to American employees first.”

The DOL’s September announcement was launched on the identical day that President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a one-time $100,000 charge on H-1B visa purposes. The White Home beforehand informed Fox Information Digital that the charge works to stop “corporations from spamming the system and driving down wages” with low-cost overseas labor, whereas on the similar time selling “American corporations that truly need to convey extremely expert employees” to the US.

The Division of Labor couldn’t present particulars of the small print of the 175 ongoing investigations, which account for greater than $15 million in calculated again wages owed to employees, however reported to Fox Digital that it has uncovered a plethora of issues.

The investigation discovered that some overseas employees with superior levels are paid far lower than what’s promoted within the job description, which the DOL says reduces wages for each visa holders and U.S. employees, whereas additionally forcing U.S. employees with the identical {qualifications} to simply accept decrease wages to stay aggressive.

Different analysis discovered that employers didn’t even notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers when an H-1B visa holder was fired, or that there have been vital delays between a termination and an employer notifying the company that oversees the U.S. immigration system.

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Lori Chavez-DeRemer, US Secretary of Labor. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Pictures)

On the coronary heart of different investigations, Fox Information Digital realized, are paperwork filed by employers with the DOL to rent H-1B holders, in addition to different visa packages, referred to as Labor Situation Purposes (LCA). Employers are required to inform U.S. employees earlier than hiring H-IB employees when submitting an LCA. That is half of a bigger effort to make sure that American employees get the primary likelihood at a job, and to precisely describe the job a employee will work and specify the employee’s pay.

Investigators discovered that the workplaces listed within the LCA paperwork didn’t exist, or that staff had been unaware of the duties they had been supposedly anticipated to carry out as outlined within the purposes. Different analysis discovered that employees had been paid lower than what was described in an LCA, or that employers sloppily copy-pasted job bulletins for U.S. employees that bore little relation to the job described within the LCA.

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President Donald Trump indicators an government order within the Oval Workplace of the White Home in Washington, DC on Friday, September 19, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Pictures)

Different analysis discovered that some employees participated in “benching,” by which H-1B visa holders are paid nothing if they’re between energetic work tasks, Fox Digital discovered.

Many tech corporations have embraced the H-1B visa program, which permits U.S. corporations to rent overseas employees in specialised professions, however critics of this system say H-1B holders are sometimes chosen over U.S. residents for jobs. One cause for that is that overseas employees are tied to their respective employers by the H-1B visa – as an organization is required to sponsor the visa – and quitting the job may in the end lead to overseas employees shedding their visas and their capability to remain within the nation legally.

Justin Vianello, CEO of Skillstorm, informed Fox Information Digital final month that the work visa program in the US is a “three-headed monster” that must be drastically reformed to keep away from leaving American employees behind.

Earlier this 12 months, the Trump administration a proposal unveiled designed to incentivize employers to supply increased salaries or reserve H-1B petitions for jobs that require superior abilities. The rule change, formally printed within the Federal Register, got here simply days after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation establishing a $100,000 charge for H-1B visa purposes.

The $100,000 charge — a one-time charge that applies solely to new H-1B petitions — will take impact with the subsequent annual lottery, the system the U.S. authorities makes use of to pick purposes as soon as the annual visa restrict is reached.

“The entire thought is not that these Massive Tech corporations or different large corporations will prepare overseas employees. They must pay the federal government $100,000, then they must pay the employee, in order that’s simply not the case.” [economical]Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mentioned as Trump signed the order.