US initiates H-1B, PERM visa fraud probe; Cognizant among firms under scrutiny

The US on Wednesday (July 8) launched an investigation into alleged fraud in the H-1B and PERM work visas by several companies, with a federal labour official saying that Indian IT firm Cognizant is among the companies under scrutiny.

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The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) under the Department of Labour has uncovered widespread schemes in which employers and labour brokers submitted fraudulent applications, exploited foreign workers through coercive wage-kickback arrangements, and undercut American workers by flooding the market with below-wage labour, an official statement said.

US intensifies visa fraud crackdown

“We are going to take an aggressive action, what we believe is probably the most aggressive action against foreign labour fraud by an inspector general. We've already started to issue dozens of subpoenas; we are going to make sure that we track down every lead. We have whistleblowers talking about some of the biggest companies like Cognizant, who have been sort of, you know, in the chatter of issues with PERM and H-1B visas,” Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito told Fox Business on Wednesday.

The action has been taken under the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud led by Vice President JD Vance.

“The Fraud Task Force has been very clear. Vice President Vance has said there is no fraud too small and there is no fraud too large. It is another example where fraud is fuelling violent crime. Much of the fraud in visa and human trafficking that we see when it comes to foreign labour is tied to cartels,” he added.

“NEW INVESTIGATION: @USLaborIG is cracking down on H-1B and PERM visa fraud. Fraudsters gaming the system — beware. We’re issuing subpoenas, tracking every lead, and putting criminals in cuffs,” the office of the Labour Department Inspector General said in a post on X.

Labour Dept alleges widespread fraud

An official statement by the Labour Department said the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) under the Department of Labour has uncovered widespread schemes in which employers and labour brokers submitted fraudulent applications, exploiting foreign workers through coercive wage-kickback arrangements.

“These abuses undermine the integrity of Department of Labour programs designed to address genuine labour shortages — not to line the pockets of bad actors at the expense of American jobs,” a statement said.

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This investigation reflects the OIG’s unwavering commitment to dismantling human trafficking and forced-labour networks that exploit the foreign guest worker visa system, the statement added.

The OIG is determined to root out every scheme that preys on vulnerable workers and takes jobs from American workers, it said.

US President Donald Trump announced a new federal task force back in March this year, headed by Vice President JD Vance, to tackle fraud in government programmes. Trump said in the Oval Office at the time of the announcement that it’s about fraud, having to do with all the fraud that’s taking place in the country.

(With agency inputs)