Justice Department

Yesterday, April 3rd was the first day the USCIS began accepting H-1B visa petitions that are subject to the cap for the next fiscal year (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). The H-1B visa allows U.S. employers to employ temporarily foreign workers in specialty occupations including science and technology. The anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibit employers from discriminating against U.S. workers because of their citizenship or national origin. This prohibition applies to hiring, firing and recruiting or recruiting for a fee. An employer may be found to have violated the INA’s anti-discriminatory prohibitions if they favor H-1B visa holders over U.S. workers. “The Justice Department will not tolerate employers misusing the H-1B visa process to discriminate against U.S. workers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Civil Rights Division. “U.S. workers should not be placed in a disfavored status, and the department is wholeheartedly committed to investigating and vigorously prosecuting these claims.” The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section of the division (formerly the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices) is responsible for prosecuting violations under these provisions which include citizenship, immigration status and national original discrimination in hiring, firing, recruitment or recruitment for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation. Please contact Hammond Law Group if you have any questions about what may or may not be considered a violation of the INA’s anti-discrimination provisions.