DOL Launches 175 H-1B Visa Abuse Investigations to Protect American Jobs

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Labor revealed that it has launched at least 175 ongoing investigations targeting possible abuses within the H-1B visa program as part of its mission to protect American jobs and ensure that only necessary foreign workers are employed in the United States.

The DOL launched Project Firewall in September to ensure that employers prioritize qualified Americans for positions and do not abuse the H1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.

As part of the aggressive federal crackdown on potential abuses of the program, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is personally certifying the opening of investigations — which is a mechanism the department has never used before, Fox Digital has learned.

“The Department of Labor is using every resource currently at our disposal to stop H-1B visa abuse, and for the first time, I am personally certifying investigations into alleged violations to better protect American jobs,” Chavez-DeRemer told Fox News Digital in a statement.

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House October 6, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue to invest in our workforce, ensuring that high-skilled job opportunities go first to American workers.”

The DOL’s September announcement came the same day President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a one-time $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications. The White House previously told Fox News Digital that the fees were intended to prevent “companies from spamming the system and driving down wages” with cheap foreign labor, while simultaneously promoting “American companies that actually want to bring highly skilled workers” to the United States.

The Labor Department could not provide details on the specifics of the 175 ongoing investigations, which represent more than $15 million in calculated back wages for workers, but reported to Fox Digital that it had uncovered numerous concerns.

Investigations have found that some foreign workers with advanced degrees are paid significantly less than what is advertised in a job description, which the DOL says drives down wages for visa holders and U.S. workers, while forcing U.S. employees with the same qualifications to accept lower wages in order to remain competitive.

Other investigations found that employers did not even notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services when an H-1B visa holder was terminated, or found significant delays between a termination and when the employer notified the agency that oversees the U.S. immigration system.

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Lori Chavez-DeRemer, US Secretary of Labor. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

At the heart of other investigations, Fox News Digital has learned, are documents filed by employers with the DOL in order to employ H-1B holders, as well as other visa programs, known as Labor Condition Applications (LCAs). Employers are required to provide notice to U.S. workers before hiring H-IB workers when filing an LCA, which is part of a broader effort to ensure that U.S. workers have first access to jobs, as well as to accurately describe the work an employee will perform and detail the employee’s salary.

Investigators discovered that the job sites listed in the LCA documents either did not exist or that the workers were unaware of the tasks they were supposed to perform, as stated in the applications. Other investigations found that employees were paid less than what was detailed in an LCA, or that employers carelessly copied and pasted employment notices for U.S. workers that had little connection to the employment described in the LCA.

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President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Friday, September 19, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Other investigations found that some employees participated in “benching,” which is when H-1B visa holders receive nothing while they are between active work projects, Fox Digital found.

Many technology companies have adopted the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in skilled trades, but critics of the program say H-1B visa holders are often chosen over U.S. citizens for jobs. One reason for this is that foreign workers are tied to their respective employers via the H-1B visa – as a company is required to sponsor the visa – and so leaving their jobs could ultimately see the foreign workers lose their visa and their ability to legally stay in the country.

Justin Vianello, CEO of Skillstorm, told Fox News Digital last month that the U.S. work visa program is a “three-headed monster” that needs to be radically reformed so as not to leave American workers behind.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration unveiled a proposal designed to incentivize employers to offer higher wages or reserve H-1B petitions for jobs that require advanced skills. The rule change, officially published in the Federal Register, came just days after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications.

The $100,000 fee — a one-time fee that applies only to new H-1B petitions — will take effect during the next annual lottery, the system the U.S. government uses to screen applicants once the annual visa cap is reached.

“The idea is that these big tech companies or other big companies will no longer train foreign workers. They have to pay the government $100,000 and then they have to pay the employee, so it’s just not (economic),” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said as Trump signed the order.