Due to Widespread Fraud, U.S. Requesting More Information from H-1Bs
Indian press in a panic
By John Miano on May 8, 2025
The Indian press is in a panic right now over the U.S. government requesting more information on H-1Bs.
Specifically, the government is asking for biometric and address information. The Indian press notes that the need for such information is unusual.
The details given are sketchy, but it appears that DHS is taking aim at one of the gaping integrity holes in the H-1B program: Unless the beneficiary is already in the U.S., the only real tie between the paperwork and a person is the name and a passport number.
This opens the door for employers to file generic names in the H-1B lottery and then create fake documents matching a lottery winner to an actual person. During the last H-1B regulation notice and comment, “several commentators” called for more rigorous links between people and the paperwork, such as a photograph. Biden’s DHS rejected calls for such simple integrity measures.
We know that it is possible to get such manufactured documentation in India. Lakireddy Bali Reddy was able to get paperwork to create an entire family so that he could import a teenage sex slave he had bought into the U.S.
The last H-1B compliance audit found that over 13 percent of approved H-1B petitions were fraudulent. The H-1B denial rate is only 3.5 percent.
Results like that are why we are unlikely to ever see such an audit again, even though the last one was done under Bush.
https://cis.org/Miano/Due-Widespread-Fraud-US-Requesting-More-Information-H1Bs
