Enhancing Program Integrity And Interagency Coordination In The Administration Of The H-1b Nonimmigrant Visa Program

Agencies must consider sponsors’ layoffs and coordinate more closely when reviewing H-1B applications, petitions, visas, and entry. The policy increases scrutiny of employers that use foreign specialty workers while cutting comparable U.S. jobs.

What the order does ​

• Requires the Departments of State, Labor, and Homeland Security to coordinate with Commerce, Education, and the Small Business Administration on H-1B compliance.
• Directs agencies to consider whether an H-1B sponsor conducted layoffs in the prior year or plans layoffs harming similarly situated U.S. workers.
• Orders the Wage and Hour Division to begin reviewing prior labor-condition application data within 30 days for possible action against sponsors.
• Authorizes State, Commerce, Labor, and Homeland Security to issue rules, policies, and guidance needed to implement the order.

Who it affects ​

• Employers sponsoring H-1B workers, especially those that recently laid off or plan to lay off comparable U.S. employees.
• Current and prospective H-1B workers whose applications, visas, or entry are reviewed.
• U.S. workers in specialty occupations, particularly technology and other H-1B-reliant fields.