USCIS Fraud Detection Unit
The federal agency charged with combating fraud and abuse involving immigration visas for H-1B and L1-Workers is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Unit. The agency’s Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) unit is planning to step up its site visits this year for auditing purposes. They will visit many work sites to review all L-1 petitions to ensure that everything listed is correct. There will be more targeted visits and employers need to prepare their H and L workers on what to expect, and take the visits seriously.
Why The Visits Have Increased
These visits by the FDNS have increased because the decisions by the government to ramp up anti immigration-fraud efforts in 2010 were largely successful. As a consequence of that decision, the FDNS stopped focusing solely on reviewing H-1B visas and also started paying attention to the L-1A and L-1B Visas. More than 80% of the DHS fraud cases resulted from these visits, and that encouraged the government to increase their scope.
The L Visas
The L Visas is meant for foreign multinational executives and managers that work for affiliate companies in the United States. Employers with L Visa workers have never had to worry too much about compliance because they were not usually targeted for visits. But now companies are starting to get concerned because their managerial personnel now face tighter rules and increased investigations. For this reason, company operations have been facing interruptions and delays as managerial staff seek to justify their L Visas. If your employees are being charged with immigration fraud, you will need an experienced attorney to help you navigate that situation for the sake of your business.
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In cases you are visited by an inspector, you should cooperate fully. All the information they provide to the inspector about the L and H employees should be accurate and complete. Employers also need to train their employees on what to say when an inspector from FDNS comes to their premises unexpectedly. For instance, your secretary should guide the inspector to a conference room, and not answer any questions the inspector asks, until the company’s designated spokesperson arrives. Note that targeted visits can be conducted at any time especially for employees that have pending petitions before the USCIS.
What To Expect From A Targeted FDNS Visit
You should expect the following from An FDNS site visit:
- The investigators are interested in detecting fraud or abuse of the H-1B program.
- These investigators can show up without warning at the work location listed on the H-1B petition.
- In case the H-1B worker works offsite, the investigators will look at documents to find information that substantiates the relationship between that worker and the employer. Generally, they will be looking at the nature of that employee’s work.
- They may interview the H-1B employees about their job duties, work hours, salary and even work location. In targeted visits, investigators may seek more detailed answers.
You need to take these investigations seriously because if your work site draws any suspicions, more investigations may be carried out on the site by other government agencies.