The H-1B visa program “will look very different 365 days from now,” Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito warned in a wide-ranging interview published Sunday by Hindustan Times. The comment comes as the Trump administration builds what officials describe as the largest investigation ever into alleged fraud, wage underpayment and human-trafficking linked to the specialty-worker visa. According to the report, federal agents have already executed dozens of search warrants, suspended filings from marquee IT outsourcers Cognizant and Cloudera, and issued subpoenas to a broad range of staffing firms. A September 18 executive order now requires adjudicators to examine recent U.S.-worker layoffs before approving petitions and instructs the Wage and Hour Division to conduct retroactive audits of labor-condition applications. Separately, the White House quietly extended its proclamation restricting entry of certain H-1B beneficiaries through 21 September 2027 and imposed an unprecedented US $100 000 bond on most petitions filed for workers abroad. Administration officials say the earlier curb prompted a 92 percent drop in registrations from the largest outsourcing companies, and they expect additional declines once the bond takes effect. Taken together, the measures signal a strategic shift from incremental rule-making to aggressive enforcement. Employers that rely on H-1B talent should anticipate longer processing times, more Requests for Evidence and, in some cases, on-site audits. Multinationals may need to accelerate plans for near-shore or remote-work alternatives, and foreign professionals should prepare for heightened scrutiny at both petition and consular stages. Immigration counsel recommend documenting bona-fide employment relationships and maintaining robust public-access files to withstand investigations. Although officials stopped short of threatening abolition of the visa class, stakeholders expect new legislation in 2027 that could cap third-party placements, raise minimum wages and introduce a points-based selection system. With the comment period on several related proposed rules closing next month, businesses have a narrow window to shape the future contours of U.S. high-skill immigration.
Source: Hindustan Times
