Labor Secretary to Personally Certify New H-1B Investigations

The US Labor Department launched a new enforcement initiative to probe employers’ H-1B visa program compliance, with the labor secretary personally certifying the investigations in an agency first.

“This historic action leverages existing authority granted to the Secretary if reasonable cause exists that an H-1B employer [is] not in compliance,” the agency announced Friday.

Dubbed “Project Firewall,” the DOL said the new initiative will “safeguard the rights, wages, and job opportunities” of American workers and hold employers accountable if they “abuse” the H-1B visa process. Violations could lead to monetary penalties, back wages, and employer exclusion from the visa program, it said.

The announcement comes as President Donald Trump issued a proclamation requiring a $100,000 fee for the temporary work visa heavily used by the technology sector.

The proclamation said abuse of the H-1B system has displaced American workers.

“By rooting out fraud and abuse, the Department of Labor and our federal partners will ensure that highly skilled jobs go to Americans first,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.