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 potential violations within the H-1B visa program as part of its mission to protect American jobs and ensure that only essential foreign workers are employed in the United States.

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

An aggressive federal crackdown on abuse of the program includes the Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez Dearmer Fox Digital has learned that he will personally certify the start of investigations — a mechanism the administration has not used before.

“The Department of Labor is using every resource currently available to us to end H-1B visa abuse, and for the first time, I am personally certifying investigations into suspected violations to better protect American jobs,” Chavez de Remer told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Trump’s H-1B visa reform plan needs to put Americans first

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

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

The DOL’s September proclamation was released on the same day as the President’s Donald Trump She 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 tariffs work to prevent “companies from spamming the system and driving down wages” with cheap foreign labor, while at the same time 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 current investigations, which represent more than $15 million in back wages imputed to workers, but told Fox Digital that they have uncovered a significant amount of concerns.

Investigations revealed that some foreign workers with advanced degrees are being paid far less than what is promoted in their job descriptions, which the Labor Department said is driving down wages for visa holders and U.S. workers alike, while also 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’s employment was terminated, or found significant time lags between the termination and the employer notifying the agency that oversees the U.S. immigration system.

Walmart has stopped hiring workers who need H-1B visas after the Trump administration imposes new fees

Lori Chavez de Remer, Secretary of Labor, Department of Labor. (Chip Somodevila/Getty Images)

At the heart of other investigations, Fox News Digital has learned, are documents that employers submitted to the Department of Labor in order to hire H-1B holders, as well as other visa programs, called Labor Status Applications (LCA). Employers are required to provide notice to U.S. workers before hiring H-IB workers when filing an LCA, which is part of a larger effort to ensure U.S. workers receive first pay on jobs, as well as accurately describing the job the employee will be working and detailing the employee’s pay.

Investigators found that work locations listed in LCA documents did not exist, or that workers were not aware of the jobs they were supposed to be assigned to perform as stated in the applications. Other investigations found that employees were paid less than detailed in the LCA, or that employers were sloppily copying and pasting job notices for American workers who had little connection to the job 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, D.C., on Friday, September 19, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/CNB/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Further investigations found that some employees engaged in “seatswing,” which is when H-1B visa holders receive no pay when they are in 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 specialized professions, but critics of the program say H-1B holders are often chosen over U.S. citizens for jobs. One reason for this is that foreign workers are tied to their employers via the H-1B visa – where the company has to sponsor the visa – so leaving a job could ultimately result in foreign workers losing their visa and their ability to legally remain in the country.

Justin Vianello, CEO of Skillstorm He told Fox News Digital Last month, he said the U.S. work visa program is a “three-headed monster” that needs radical reform so as not to leave American workers behind.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration She revealed a suggestion It is designed to nudge employers toward offering higher salaries or retaining H-1B applications 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 imposing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications.

The $100,000 fee — a one-time fee that only applies to new H-1B petitions — will go into effect in the next annual lottery, the system the U.S. government uses to select applications once the annual visa cap has been reached.

“The whole idea is that big tech or other big companies don’t train foreign workers. They have to pay the government $100,000, and then they have to pay the employee, so it’s not that.” [economical]Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said as Trump signed the order.