H-1B visa abuse

Extracted Attributes

• Visa Type

  Non-immigrant visa

• Program Name

  H-1B visa program

• Nature of Abuse

  Systemic, widespread, often involves replacing American workers with lower-paid foreign labor

• Purpose of H-1B

  Allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, fashion models, or persons engaged in Department of Defense projects

• Regulatory Body

  United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Labor

• Initial Stay Duration

  Three years

• Maximum Stay Duration

  Six years (extendable after certain green card process milestones)

• Total Annual Visa Cap

  85,000 (with exemptions for some employers)

• Impact on U.S. Workers

  Lower wages, decreased opportunities, replacement

• Sponsorship Requirement

  Employer sponsorship is required

• Annual Visa Cap (Regular)

  65,000

• National Security Concern

  Identified as a threat due to visa fraud, money laundering, and RICO Act violations

• Definition of Specialty Occupation

  Requires theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge, and a bachelor's degree or higher in the specific specialty (or equivalent)

• Annual Visa Cap (U.S. Advanced Degree Holders)

  Additional 20,000

Timeline

• Beginning of the period during which the number of H-1B visas issued quadrupled by 2022. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1991

• USCIS estimated there were 583,420 foreign nationals on H-1B visas in the United States. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2019

• 265,777 H-1B visas were approved, making it the second-largest category of visa for foreign workers. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022

• The Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee for filing for an H-1B visa, effective starting September 2025, with some exemptions. (Source: Wikipedia, web_search_results)

  2025-09-01

• The Trump administration announced it had opened 175 investigations into companies potentially abusing the H-1B visa program. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-11-10

H-1B visa

The H-1B is a classification of non-immigrant visa in the United States that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, as well as fashion models, or persons who are engaged in Department of Defense projects who meet certain conditions. The regulation and implementation of visa programs are carried out by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Foreign nationals may have H-1B status while present in the United States, and may or may not have a physical H-1B visa stamp. INA section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), codified at 8 USC 1184 (i)(1) defines "specialty occupation" as an occupation that requires (A) theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, and (B) attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States. [1] H-1B visa status holders typically have an initial three-year stay in the U.S. They are entitled to a maximum of six years of physical presence in H-1B status. After reaching certain milestones in the green card process, H-1B status can be extended beyond the six-year maximum. The number of initial H-1B visas issued each fiscal year is capped at 65,000, with an additional 20,000 visas available for individuals who have earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution, for a total of 85,000. Some employers are exempt from this cap. Sponsorship by an employer is required for applicants. In 2019, the USCIS estimated there were 583,420 foreign nationals on H-1B visas in the United States. Between 1991 and 2022, the number of H-1B visas issued quadrupled. 265,777 H-1B visas were approved in 2022, the second-largest category of visa in terms of the number of foreign workers after the 310,676 H-2A visas issued to temporary, seasonal, agriculture workers. H-1B visas have been politically controversial, with various actors seeking to expand or restrict the visa program. Studies have shown H-1B visas can lead to lower wages for competing workers, but that H-1B visas have had welfare-improving effects for Americans, leading to significant overall wage gains, lower consumer prices, greater innovation, and greater total factor productivity growth. In 2025, the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee for filing for an H-1B visa starting September 2025 with exemptions for change of status, including those who are currently in US on F1 OPT.

Web Search Results

• New evidence of widespread wage theft in the H-1B visa ...

  The abuse revealed by the HCL presentation is the proverbial tip of the iceberg: it points to widespread, systemic H-1B abuse. HCL did not invent nor pioneer the exploitation of H-1B program; its exploitation of the H-1B program is standard industry practice, not an outlier. [...] For nearly a decade and a half, news reports, research, investigations, and congressional hearings have detailed the abuses of the H-1B visa program by some of the biggest information technology companies.1 The H-1B program is a temporary work visa program that allows U.S. companies to recruit and hire college-educated migrant workers. It is one of the few work visa programs that can provide temporary migrant workers with the possibility of a path to permanent residency and citizenship, [...] The document is our first inside look at an outsourcing firm’s playbook for abusing work visa programs—abuse that appears to not comport with either the letter or intent of the law. It also raises serious questions about efforts by the U.S. Department of Labor to enforce the sections of the H-1B statute and regulations intended to protect the wages and working conditions of both U.S. workers and migrant workers. These revelations serve as a compelling justification for a sweeping investigation

• Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers

  The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor. The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security. Some employers, using practices now widely adopted by entire sectors, have abused the [...] The abuse of the H-1B program is also a national security threat. Domestic law enforcement agencies have identified and investigated H-1B-reliant outsourcing companies for engaging in visa fraud, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and other illicit activities to encourage foreign workers to come to the United States. [...] Further, the abuse of the H-1B visa program has made it even more challenging for college graduates trying to find IT jobs, allowing employers to hire foreign workers at a significant discount to American workers. These effects of abuse of H-1B visas have coincided with increasing challenges in the labor market in which H-1B workers serve. According to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, among college graduates ages 22 to 27, computer science and computer engineering majors are

• Combating Fraud and Abuse in the H-1B Visa Program

  Protecting American workers by combating fraud in our employment-based immigration programs is a priority for USCIS. USCIS continuously works to deter and detect fraud in all immigration programs and we are furthering our efforts by enhancing and increasing site visits, interviews, and investigations of petitioners who use the H-1B visa program. These efforts will help assist in the prosecution of program violators and ensure that American workers are not overlooked or replaced in the process. [...] Protections for H-1B Workers Who Report Suspected Fraud or Abuse If an H-1B worker reports suspected fraud or abuse, immigration law may provide certain protections to these workers. If an H-1B worker: applies to extend their H-1B status or change their nonimmigrant status, indicates that they faced retaliatory action from their employer because they reported an LCA violation, and lost or failed to maintain their H-1B status, [...] The H-1B visa program should help U.S. companies recruit highly-skilled aliens when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country. Yet, too many American workers who are as qualified, willing, and deserving to work in these fields have been ignored or unfairly disadvantaged. Employers who abuse the H-1B visa program may negatively affect U.S. workers, decreasing wages and opportunities as they import more foreign workers.

• H-1B visa update: Trump admin opens 175 investigations ...

  ImmigrationVisaH-1B VisasDepartment of LaborDonald Trump News Article # H-1B Visa Update: Trump Admin Opens 175 Investigations into Visa ‘Abuse’ Published Nov 10, 2025 at 07:32 AM EST By Hugh Cameron U.S. News Reporter Newsweek is a Trust Project member The Donald Trump administration says it has opened 175 investigations into companies potentially abusing the H-1B visa program for skilled foreign-born workers. [...] Beyond crackdowns on illegal immigration, through both border enforcement and deportations, the administration has worked to reform many of the legal pathways to residence for students and skilled workers. The H-1B program has been a particular focus, given the administration’s belief that this has put downward pressure on American wages and been open to “systemic abuse” that poses a threat to national and economic security.

• US lawmaker to introduce bill to completely eliminate H-1B visa ...

  There is a congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 regular H-1B visas and another 20,000 for US advanced degree holders that are issued per year. US businesses use the H-1B programme to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The Trump administration has launched a massive crackdown to check abuse in the H-1B visa programme which is used by companies, particularly technology companies, to employ foreign workers in the US. [...] "My dear fellow Americans, I'm introducing a bill to completely eliminate the H-1B visa programme, which has been riddled with fraud and abuse and has been displacing American workers for decades," Congresswoman from Gerogia, Marjorie Taylor Greene said in a video posted on X on Thursday. [...] "Now this will completely end the H-1B visa programme and all other sectors in the job force and in the workforce. This is America first. It's time to put American citizens first instead of foreigners first, and this has been an abuse for far too long. Americans deserve a future. They deserve a chance. And I believe Americans are the most talented people in the world, the most creative, and I want them to have their American dream," she said.