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H-1B visa program could look ‘very different in 365 days’, Trump administration warns as fraud crackdown expands
The H-1B visa program may undergo significant changes due to increased investigations into foreign labor fraud, warns Labor Department.
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The H-1B visa program could look substantially different a year from now as the Trump administration expands investigations into alleged foreign-labor fraud, with Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito warning that the government is building a case that could lead to tougher enforcement.
“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.
His comments come as the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General steps up a nationwide investigation into alleged fraud, worker exploitation and potential human trafficking linked to foreign-labor programs.
‘We are building a case’
D’Esposito said the administration was working to show the American public what investigators believe is happening within the foreign-labor system.
“This is not a paperwork accounting issue, that this is real,” he said, adding that the government was “laying out our case” and that the investigation required substantial work and resources.
The Labor OIG has already taken enforcement steps. In a September 18 statement, the agency said investigators had issued dozens of subpoenas and executed search warrants as part of the investigation. The department also said visa applications involving Cognizant and Cloudera had been suspended pending the criminal investigation.
D’Esposito said the investigation would continue to target companies and practices that investigators believe have abused foreign-labor programs.
Also read: Trump government widens foreign labor fraud crackdown: What H-1B workers and employers should know
White House adds another layer of scrutiny
The warning comes alongside a broader White House push to tighten oversight of H-1B visas.
A September 18 executive order directs the Departments of Labor, Homeland Security and State to consider whether an employer has carried out layoffs affecting similarly situated US workers when reviewing H-1B applications. It also directs the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division to review previously submitted labor-condition applications and determine whether further action is warranted.
The administration has also extended its restriction on the entry of certain H-1B workers through September 21, 2027. Under the proclamation, covered petitions for workers outside the US generally require a $100,000 payment, subject to specified exceptions.
The White House says the earlier restriction was followed by a 92% decline in H-1B registrations from the largest IT outsourcing firms, while consular-processing requests also fell sharply. Those figures are administration-reported measurements.
D’Esposito did not announce that the H-1B program would be abolished. His remarks instead point to continued investigations, company-level enforcement and possible policy changes over the coming year.
