H-1B visa lottery system has resulted in abuse, fraud: USCIS

The H-1B visa lottery system, devised to select successful H-1B applicants every year, has resulted in abuse of the system and a sharp increase in fraudulent effort

The computerised drawing of lots devised to select successful H-1B applicants every year has resulted in abuse of the system and a sharp increase in fraudulent efforts, a federal agency said on Friday.

In an unusual statement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday said, based on evidence from the Financial Year 2023 and Financial Year 2024 H-1B cap seasons, it has already undertaken extensive fraud investigations, denied and revoked petitions.

USCIS said it is in the process of initiating law enforcement referrals for criminal prosecution.

“The H-1B programme is an essential part of our nation’s immigration system and our economy, and the USCIS is committed to implementing the law and helping meet the ever-changing needs of the US labour market,” it said.

“We are working on an upcoming H-1B modernisation rule that will propose, among other improvements, bolstering the H-1B registration process to reduce the possibility of misuse and fraud in the H-1B registration system,” it added.

USCIS said during the registration period for the FY 2024 H-1B cap, it saw a significant increase in the number of registrations submitted compared to prior years.

It said there were 780,884 applications for H-1B visas in this year’s computer-generated lottery, against 4,83,927 in 2023 and 3,01,447 in 2022 and 2,74,237 in 2021.