Is the Way to Report H1-B Fraud or Abuse to the US Government for Real?

ByShaun Snapp

Executive Summary

  • H1-B fraud and abuse are rampant in the H1-B program.
  • This article covers how to report it to the US government.

Introduction

Most Americans do not know where to report H1-B fraud. According to the website of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, there is a place to report fraud.

From the US Citizenship and Immigration Service

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.

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. – Indians Are Gatekeepers to IT Jobs & Deny US IT Opportunities

This is one of the only places we have found any admission by the US Government that the H1-B program has a problem with fraud.

The Reasons the USCIS States Are Things That Can be Reported to Them

The H-1B worker is not or will not be paid the wage certified on the Labor Condition Application (LCA).

There is a wage disparity between H-1B workers and other workers performing the same or similar duties, particularly to the detriment of U.S. workers.

The H-1B worker is not performing the duties specified in the H-1B petition, including when the duties are at a higher level than the position description.

The H-1B worker has less experience than U.S. workers in similar positions in the same company.

The H-1B worker is not working in the intended location as certified on the LCA. – Indians Are Gatekeepers to IT Jobs & Deny US IT Opportunities

The question is, how difficult is it to prove these things.

Secondly, how does one obtain the documentation that each H1-B visa holder is working under? This cannot be reported by co-workers as it has a high likelihood of bringing around retaliation by the HR department.

The link to the form to report an H1-B abuse is here.

Reviewing the USCIS’s Web Page in the Context of the Government’s Behavior Regarding the H1-B Program

The government has, for decades, been bought off by the H1-B lobby. There is an open question as to how sincere this form is by the USCIS or whether it is a page designed to look like the USCIS is serious about H1-B abuse. There is an enormous number of easily findable H1-B fraudulent behaviors. And the US Government is doing nothing about it. For example, how did Cognizant bring in close to 30,000 H1-B visa holders in a single year, as we cover in the article Cognizant Receives Approval for 28,908 H1-B Visas in a Single Year. Even when large companies are caught, such as in the case of Infosys, Who Got the $34 Million Fine from the Infosys H1-B Fraud Case?, the company is not asked to admit guilt, fines do not serve to dissuade Infosys from continuing its business model — which is to bring in more and more H1-B holders and to continue to displace US domestic workers. Furthermore, all that happens is that the money goes to the US Government, and nothing is done to help US domestic workers.

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Conclusion

There are many open questions with this form.

  1. First, it relies on a person to have inside information as to what is on the H1-B visa holder’s form. This is information that is typically known only by parties that are themselves complicit in H1-B fraud.
  2. Second, it is essential that the individual within a company who has these suspicions does not submit the form. However, if they can’t submit the form, then the USCIS can ask the individual how they came to know the information.

References

https://www.uscis.gov/report-fraud/combating-fraud-and-abuse-in-the-h-1b-visa-program