Texas Plans To Probe H-1B Visa Frauds

Hyderabad: Major action is underway in the United States to investigate and limit what officials describe as abuse of the H-1B visa system. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered all state agencies and public universities to halt filing new H-1B visa petitions until at least May 31, 2027, while Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton called for serious investigations into H-1B frauds.

Governor Abbott said that the pause on petitions is needed to ensure American jobs are prioritised for US workers, and to respond to reports of misuse of the system. Agencies must now submit detailed reports about how many H-1B visas they filed last year, who holds them and what job roles they fill.

Texas Attorney-General Paxton alleged widespread H-1B visa fraud, and his office has issued demands for documents from businesses suspected of using “ghost offices”, which are addresses that appear not to be real workplaces, to sponsor visa holders without legitimate jobs.

“Abuse and fraud within these programmes strip jobs and opportunities away from Texans. I will use every tool available to uproot and hold accountable any individual or company engaged in these fraudulent schemes,” Paxton said.

Texas is home to thousands of Indians, with many cities housing hundreds of thousands of Telugu households and individuals working in multiple sectors like tech, healthcare, engineering fields et cetera. And Indian residents in Texas have raised concerns over the new orders.

A Karimnagar-based H-4 visa holder, a dependant of a H-1B holder, said, “As we saw from the multiple actions taken previously, this is rarely going to be limited just to searches or checks. Officials will exploit the new orders, and will try to make our lives miserable.”

“Workplace checks or spot checking might increase exponentially. We are already carrying basic documents like passports etc., but now we might have to carry other documents like I-797 as well,” the H-4 holder said.

An H-1B visa holder, originally from Vijayawada, said, “I have seen how ICE and other enforcement officials have taken the law into their hands and are reacting to basic searches in a very violent way. I am genuinely hoping that would not happen here.”

Supporters of the move argue that the move protects American workers and addresses fraud, but critics warn that halting visa petitions may worsen shortages in education, research, healthcare and other fields, and rules could be exploited in the name of investigations and searches.