H-1B visa news: US launches probe into 175 potential abuses of visa program to protect American jobs

AMID President Donald Trump's crackdown on H-1B visas to protect American jobs, the administration has launched an investigation into 175 potential abuses of the visa programme.

The Department of Labor (DOL) launched Project Firewall in September after Trump signed a proclamation that imposed a $100,000 one-time fee on H-1B visa petitions, to look into potential abuse to protect American jobs, reported Fox News.

Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer told the news outlet that the Labor Department is using every resource currently at its disposal to put a stop to H-1B visa abuse.

However, the labor department did not provide other details related to investigations.

"For the first time, I am personally certifying investigations into suspected violations to better protect American jobs,” Chavez-DeRemer said.

Meanwhile, in a post on X, Chavez-DeRemer stated that DOL is using every resource at its disposal to put a stop to H-1B abuse and protect US jobs.

“Under the leadership of @POTUS, we’ll continue to invest in our workforce and ensure high-skilled job opportunities go to American Workers FIRST!,” she added.

On 19 September, the Trump administration imposed a new $100,000 fee (approximately ₹88 lakh) on new H-1B petitions, which companies pay to sponsor applicants. The proclamation announced ‘restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’.

Later, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) clarified that the USD 100,000 fee will not apply to applicants seeking a ‘change of status’ or 'extension of stay'.

However, the move also prompted legal action by unions, employers and religious organisations in a federal court in California.

The White House had said that the share of IT workers in the H-1B programme grew from 32% in fiscal year 2003 to an average of over 65% in the last five fiscal years and claimed that some of the most prolific H-1B employers were consistently IT outsourcing companies.

Who gets the exceptions?

As per USCIS, in an extraordinarily rare circumstance, security exceptions to the $100,000 are granted where the Secretary of Homeland Security determines the purpose.

The exception is granted if:

— A particular alien worker’s presence in the United States as an H-1B worker is in the national interest

— No American worker is available to fill the role

— The alien worker does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States
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— Requiring the petitioning employer to make the payment on the alien's behalf would significantly undermine the interests of the United States.

According to the USCIS, Indians comprise an estimated 71% of all approved H-1B applications in recent years.

Last month, Warren Harris, the CEO and Managing Director of Tata Technologies, had said that the fee hike has no short-term impact on the firm.

“We are not an India-out company. We were very much a global company, with the majority of our employees in different territories who were nationals of those countries,” Warren Harris told PTI.