US gives details of H2B visa frauds

United States, 4th November: Reports of massive fraud have been revealed in the US H2B visa program.

As per a recent report by the US government, there have been several convictions pointing out towards widespread abuse of foreign workers by some recruiters and employers.

Giving details about the abuse in the US H2B visa program, the GAO (Government Accountability Office) stated in a letter addressed to George Miller, the chairman of House Committee on Education and Labor, stated of 10 cases of violations in the US visa program.

As per the report, these cases involved violations regarding excessive fees from employees, unfair wages to employees and bogus documentation provided to government agencies in abuse of US visa program rules.

In addition, there have been reports of illegal immigration of 87 Indians who had paid around $20,000 each for entering the US.

Employers involved in the US H2B visa fraud were found to be operating in 29 different states, the findings of the report reveal.

Around six cases involved non-payment of hourly wages, overtime or even both by employers under the US H2B visa program. In New York, workers were paid an hourly wage of below $5 which is far below the promised hourly wage rate between $8 and 12.20. all these workers had worked for around 80 hours a week.

And nearly eight of the 10 fraud cases in the US H2B visa program were associated with submission of fake documents by employers concerning the prospective immigrant workers.

Employers were also found to have charged excessive fees from workers under the US H2B visa program for visa processing, monthly rent in overcrowded places and transportation charges.

The report maintained that when employees left the US, they were in greater debt than at the time of their arrival.

Under the US H2B visa program, foreign migrants are allowed to live and work in the US in the non-agricultural jobs that are seasonal and temporary in nature. And majority of workers are involved in hospitality or construction jobs in the US.

The US H2B visa program is overseen by agencies including USCIS(United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), the Department of State, and the Department of Labor.