H-1B Visa Fraud
No visa system is perfect, but the H-1B visa lottery is particularly subject to fraud and abuse. In fact, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office is avidly working to protect the program for qualified workers. Fraud threatens to topple the entire system, barricading borders and prohibiting millions of people from following their dreams.
All immigrants deserve a fighting chance to make a better life for themselves. Our team at Malik Law PLLC will work tirelessly to fight for your H-1B visa. Call our offices today.
What is H-1B Visa Fraud?
When a CEO of a foreign company wants to get a high amount of H-1B visas each year, they would have to file thousands of visa petitions and hope that they get the required number of spots in the lottery. The H-1B visa cap is 85,000 new visas, but there are hundreds of thousands of applicants. In 2022 alone, the number of applicants rose by about 400,000.
This inequity leads some individuals to find a less legal avenue to get their foreign employees into the country. For instance, some countries will help CEOs get fraudulent documents for an individual, U.S. politicians can be bribed to deflect investigations into the matter, and CEOs can take advantage of the fact that the petition does not require any identifying information about the worker – meaning they can be filled out with fake names and birthdates. Once the CEO received the visas, they would only have to match the applicant with the visa, creating fake passports and marriage documentation to go along with it.
When an individual is caught filing for a fraudulent H-1B or with a fraudulent H-1B, they can be charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and/or visa fraud. Both are federal crimes and carry a sentence of up to five years in federal prison. Though, if the reason the individual was using the visa was to commit another crime, like drug trafficking, it could carry a sentence maximum of 25 years.
Call Malik Law PLLC Today for a Free Consultation
Richa Malik knows how pervasive H-1B fraud is in the U.S. and endeavors to ensure every visa applicant gets the best representation. Call (206) 771-6207 for a free consultation today, or contact us online.