Vance calls H-1B system rife with visa fraud

Washington, Oct 8 (IANS) US Vice-President J.D. Vance on Thursday launched a sweeping attack on the H-1B visa programme, accusing American corporations and foreign outsourcing firms of exploiting foreign workers, depressing wages and replacing American employees through what he described as widespread immigration fraud.

Vance said the Trump administration was determined to overhaul the programme, tighten enforcement and ensure that companies hired foreign professionals only when they possessed exceptional skills unavailable in the American workforce.

"The H-1B visa program is meant to allow companies to bring in really the best of the best from outside the United States of America for positions that are completely impossible to fill with American workers," he told reporters.

"Unfortunately, the program has become rife with fraud over the last several years, probably the last several decades," he alleged.

The Vice-President accused employers of manipulating recruitment procedures by advertising vacancies in ways that discouraged American applicants and then using the absence of responses to justify hiring foreign workers.

He said that companies were exploiting the immigration status of H-1B employees, whose ability to remain in the United States often depended on continued employment.

Vance repeatedly described such workers as "foreign indentured servants", adding that employers could use their immigration dependence to suppress wages.

He claimed that H-1B workers earned around $20,000 less annually than American citizens employed in comparable positions.

"For employees recruited through foreign outsourcing firms, the difference was even greater," he alleged.

"If you were brought in by one of these foreign outsourcing firms, you're making $48,000 less than an American citizen in a similar position," Vance said.

He also singled out Microsoft, alleging that the company had laid off 6,000 American workers while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.

He presented those figures as evidence of a broader pattern of replacing American employees with foreign workers.

The Vice-President said the administration was particularly concerned about alleged misrepresentations made by employers when applying for specialised worker visas.

Asked by a reporter to explain precisely what constituted fraud, Vance said employers were certifying that foreign applicants possessed highly specialised skills when, according to him, they were being recruited to perform jobs already done by Americans.

"The nature of the fraud is fundamentally that when you apply for these visa programs, you make a couple of certifications," he added.

He said that false representations in visa applications could constitute violations of federal law.

Vance also defended the administration's decision to impose a higher fee on H-1B applications, saying companies genuinely seeking exceptional international talent should be willing to bear additional costs.

He cited Elon Musk and AMD chief executive Lisa Su as examples of the kind of foreign talent the United States should welcome.

"We want a lot of other people to come into the United States of America if they have truly elite specialised skills," he said.

The Vice-President urged Congress to reform the H-1B programme, while insisting that the administration would use existing regulatory and enforcement powers to address suspected abuses.

He said the administration's objective was not to prevent all skilled immigration but to ensure that foreign recruitment did not undermine American workers.

--IANS

int/lkj/khz