The U.S. federal government has launched a multi-agency crackdown on work visa fraud, targeting rampant exploitation within foreign labor programs such as the H-1B visa and employment-based green cards. Speaking at an event in Milwaukee, Vice President JD Vance announced that Labor Department officials have already issued dozens of subpoenas to dismantle systemic schemes aimed at displacing domestic talent. The sweeping investigation focuses on foreign labor brokers and major corporations accused of filing fraudulent applications, coercing foreign workers through wage-kickback arrangements, and artificially depressing domestic wages across key commercial sectors.
According to Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito, these fraudulent schemes have severely impacted multiple industries, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the U.S. medical sector alone. Department of Homeland Security assessments reveal that fraud may be present in up to 21 percent of all H-1B visa petitions. Federal investigators suspect that several of the illicit networks under review extend far beyond financial misdeeds, involving coercive labor brokers, human trafficking syndicates, and transnational crime groups operating under the guise of legitimate staffing agencies.