The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly launched investigations into alleged discrimination in the H-1B visa program, with Trump administration officials signaling that tighter scrutiny of the skilled worker visa could be on the horizon.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told Infowars that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division had opened several investigations into hiring practices that allegedly discriminated against U.S. citizens in favor of H-1B visa holders.
Newsweek contacted the DOJ for comment via contact form outside office hours.
Why It Matters
An H-1B visa is a temporary, employment-based visa that allows U.S. companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialty fields such as technology, engineering and medicine.
Republicans remain split over the H-1B visa program. While some argue that it displaces American workers and is open to abuse, others view it as a tool to fill labor gaps in sectors such as technology. Opponents frequently emphasize the program’s potential effects on U.S. employment.
What To Know
Under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, the DOJ encourages individuals to report instances where Americans feel unfairly overlooked in hiring decisions.
Recently, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick publicly denounced the H-1B system, telling Fox News‘ The Ingraham Angle, “I am involved in changing the H-1B program because that is terrible.”
He signaled support for replacing the current lottery-based system with a wage- or merit-based selection process.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has similarly criticized the H-1B program, calling it a “total scam” and accusing U.S. companies of laying off American workers while hiring visa holders, predominantly from India.
In June, the DOJ reached a settlement with Epik Solutions, requiring the California firm to pay about $71,900 for placing job ads explicitly limited to H-1B holders, a move deemed unlawful under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The H-1B program issues up to 85,000 new visas each year, a limit that does not include existing holders who are eligible to renew.
What People Are Saying
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told Infowars: “Through our Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights section has numerous open investigations into hiring practices that discriminate against American citizens, and the list continues to grow. We encourage anyone aware of such practices to notify the Civil Rights Division so we can determine if an investigation and enforcement action is needed.”
Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek: “For FY 2025, USCIS [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] introduced a beneficiary-centric H-1B selection process, which was designed to address concerns relating to fraud and fairness. The shift to a beneficiary-centric H-1B lottery fundamentally changed how slots were allocated.
“Under the previous system, each employer could submit a separate registration for the same individual, meaning that some candidates had multiple entries in the lottery if several companies wanted to sponsor them. This led to a situation where a relatively small group of highly sought-after candidates could dominate the lottery pool, and some individuals could be selected multiple times.
“The new process prevents employers from gaining an advantage by submitting multiple registrations for the same person (either directly or through related entities). This levels the playing field, so companies that register a large number of unique candidates are more likely to see a higher number of approvals, rather than losing out to firms that previously relied on multiple entries for the same individuals.”
Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired immigration law professor at Cornell and an attorney of counsel at Miller Mayer LLP in Ithaca, New York, previously told Newsweek: “Every government program has a few people who try to scam the system. But we shouldn’t throw out the baby with the bath water and abolish the H-1B visa program. In my experience practicing business immigration law for over 40 years, the vast majority of H-1B employers play by the rules. Because of the expense, time, and uncertainty of the H-1B process, most employers would prefer to hire U.S. workers if they could.”
What Happens Next
The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to propose a new system that would award H-1B specialty occupation visas according to wage levels, replacing the existing random lottery. Federal reviewers signed off on the plan earlier this month.
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