A new report was released exposing massive fraud within the H-1B Guest worker Visa program.
A USCIS report, H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment, shows 21%, that is 1 in 5 H-1B Visas are fraudulent, or at minimum broke the rules. That does not even cover the many legal ways to subvert the program, displace U.S. citizens from their jobs and pay workers much less.
An internal report by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) examining the H-1B visa program has found evidence of forged documents and fake degrees, and even shell companies giving addresses of fake locations
Business Week interviewed outsourcing expert Dr. Ron Hira:
“We shouldn’t forget that the major problem with the H-1B program are caused by massive loopholes that allow firms to legally pay below-market wages and force US workers to train foreign replacements,” says Hira. “Those wouldn’t show up in this investigation because they are entirely legal.” Hira says that a bill proposed by Grassley and Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) bill in 2007, S. 1035, would address both fraud and legal loopholes in the program.
Hira continues:
“I’m stunned by the high incidence, nearly one in five, of obvious fraud and serious violations in H1-B visas. That means that literally tens of thousands of these visas have been granted under false pretenses. The system has been thoroughly corrupted,” notes Hira.
“Where has the government been for the past 10 years? The H-1B program has completely spun out of control and is in desperate need of reform to ensure that both foreign and U.S. workers are treated fairly and justly.”
The report, conducted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security, found that one of the most common incidences of fraud is companies paying below prevailing wages or not paying workers at all.
Hira has previously contended that numerous companies have manipulated the H1-B program to facilitate their knowledge-transfer operations to ship work overseas. Companies rotate in low-cost foreign workers to learn U.S. workers’ jobs, who then take the work back to their home countries.
Hira says that rather than providing firms with workers who possess unique skills, the program is dominated by low-wage workers who provide little added value-and instead of preventing outsourcing, the program is speeding it up.
“This report makes it clear that better oversight, including an auditing function, is desperately needed to clean up the corruption,” Hira adds. “But we shouldn’t forget that the major problems with the H-1B program are caused by massive loopholes that allow firms to legally pay below-market wages and force U.S. workers to train foreign replacements. Those wouldn’t show up in this investigation because they are entirely legal and wouldn’t be considered fraudulent or a violation. This report has simply scratched the surface in identifying what’s wrong with the H-1B program.”
Senator Chuck Grassley quipped:
We’re going to see continued abuse where people coming to this country on H-1B visas are working at Laundromats
Please Take Action, click here to ask your Congress representatives to support reforms on this program and pass S.1035.
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