“Crackdown” on H-1B Program Looming

Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued releases detailing new practices concerning the H-1B visa program. The program permits “foreign nationals with a bachelor’s degree or higher” to work in the United States while performing “specialty jobs”. As part of this announcement, USCIS indicated a “new approach to policing H-1B fraud”, which includes focusing on “H-1B Dependent Employers” who employ a high ratio of H-1B employees in relation to their U.S. employees. The DOJ’s immigration division’s statement reminds H-1B employers that “they should not discriminate against U.S. workers”. Proper documentation regarding H-1B employees will be increasingly important, and employers should closely follow news regarding changes to the H-1B program.

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