US tightens H-1B scrutiny.
The agency said on September 18 that investigators had issued dozens of subpoenas and executed search warrants in multiple locations.
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said the foreign-labor visa system could look substantially different a year from now, signalling tougher scrutiny and enforcement against companies and practices that investigators believe have abused the programme. “I think that the foreign labor visa program is going to look very different 365 days from now than it does today,” D’Esposito said in an interview posted by Benny Johnson on X. D’Esposito said the investigation goes beyond paperwork or administrative violations, with federal authorities working to establish what he described as a broader case involving alleged abuses of the foreign-labor system. “This is not a paperwork accounting issue, that this is real,” he said, adding that investigators were “laying out our case” and using significant resources to show the American public what they believe is happening. The department also said visa applications involving IT services company Cognizant and software firm Cloudera had been suspended pending a criminal investigation. In a post on X, he said: “A secure border means locking every door, including the H-1B back door,” while referring to alleged “fake employers”, “sham jobs”, “visa mills” and worker exploitation.
The H-1B visa programme could undergo major changes over the next year as the Trump administration expands a nationwide investigation into alleged foreign-labor fraud, worker exploitation and potential human trafficking. The Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General has already taken enforcement steps as part of the probe. D’Esposito has separately warned of a tougher approach to the H-1B system.