Common Types of H-1B Fraud & Abuse
>1. Body shops / "consultancies"
How it works: A staffing firm petitions for H-1Bs, then “rents” workers to real clients (Google, Microsoft, banks, etc.).
Fraud tactic: Filing an LCA with a low prevailing wage in a cheap city (e.g., Small Town A) and then shipping the worker to NYC/SF under “travel required.” This skirts wage laws.
Who to report:
DOL Wage & Hour Division (WHD) for LCA misrepresentation and underpayment.
USCIS Fraud Detection & National Security (FDNS) for petition fraud.
>2. Fake jobs / sham employment (maids, sex workers, household staff)
Example in the infographic here
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How it works: H-1Bs sponsored for “nannies, personal assistants, ballet instructors,” often tied to one address with 1-2 employees.
Fraud tactic: Employer doesn’t actually have real business operations or legitimate need.
Who to report:
USCIS petition fraud.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) if trafficking/exploitation suspected.
DOJ Immigrant & Employee Rights (IER) if there’s clear discrimination (like “must be Russian speaker to hang these cabinets”).
>3. Discriminatory job postings (PERM & H-1B)
How it works: Employers list ads with impossible or exclusionary requirements (e.g., “must speak Korean for warehouse job”) designed to weed out U.S. workers and clear the way for a foreign hire.
Fraud tactic: Pretext recruiting to “test the labor market.”
Who to report:
DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification (if PERM process).
DOJ IER (Immigrant & Employee Rights Section) for hiring discrimination.
>4. Shell companies / fraud rings
How it works: Company exists only on paper, often registered at a house/apartment, filing dozens of H-1Bs to resell or transfer.
Fraud tactic: No real office, no genuine job, visa used as immigration pathway or to profit from transfers.
Who to report:
USCIS fraud on petitions.
ICE HSI for broader fraud or criminal conspiracy.
