The Department of Labor has launched at least 175 ongoing investigations into possible H-1B abuses and revealed that there are a bounty of concerns ranging from wage mismatch to work site location. Fox News reported that the investigations found out that some foreign workers with advanced degrees are paid far less than what’s mentioned in the job description, forcing American employees with the same qualification to accept lower wages so that they don’t lose their jobs. This is the tip of the iceberg as other investigations found that several employers grossly flouted H-1B rules — did not notify the US Citizenship and Immigration Services when an H-1B visa holder was terminated. “Investigators found that work sites listed on the LCA documents did not exist, or that workers were unaware of the jobs they were supposedly assigned to perform as laid out in the applications. Other investigations found that employees were paid less than what was detailed in an LCA, or that employers were sloppily copying and pasting job notices for American workers that had little connection to the job described in the LCA,” Fox News reported.Some employees took part in “benching,” which is when H-1B visa holders are not paid anything when they are in-between active work projects.“The Labor Department is using every resource currently at our disposal to put a stop to H-1B visa abuse, and for the first time, I am personally certifying investigations into suspected violations to better protect American jobs,” Labor secretary Chavez-DeRemer told Fox News.H-1B is the visa program through which US companies hire foreign employees for supposedly special high-skilled posts. The Trump administration has cracked down on H-1B and held it liable for America’s job crisis. A $100,000 fee has been made mandatory for hiring new H-1Bs so that companies are discouraged to hire from foreign countries and give jobs first to Americans.
