Immigration Law Blog

The Department of Labor (‘DOL”) recently announced plans to toughen regulatory enforcement of the H-1B visa program, which allows businesses to employ foreign “specialty occupation” workers on a temporary basis. It plans to take certain actions in an effort to ensure that American workers are not discriminated against by the H-1B program, including “rigorously using” existing authority to initiate investigations of H-1B program violators, considering changes to the Labor Condition Application for future application cycles, and continuing stakeholder engagement on how the program might be improved to provide greater protections for U.S workers. In addition, USCIS said it will focus work-site visits on companies that employ H-1B visa holders who work offsite and pay close attention to “H-1B dependent” businesses.