Trump Admin Launches Probe Into H-1B Visa Fraudsters Stealing Jobs From Americans
The invesitgation aims to further President Trump's goal to end foreign violence on American soil and return jobs to the American people.The invesitgation aims to further President Trump's goal to end foreign violence on American soil and return jobs to the American people.How To Fuel An Entrepreneurship Revival To Save America From AI-Driven Job Loss
Why there will be a groundswell of new small businesses and how the Trump administration can help them flourish.Feds allege this Big Tech company violated federal law with bizarre scheme to avoid hiring US citizens
An American tech company is being sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly discriminating against U.S. workers.
Instead of hiring Americans, the company allegedly favored hiring workers with temporary visas, going to bizarre lengths to prevent U.S. workers from being able to properly apply for its vacant jobs.
'Employers cannot use the PERM sponsorship process as a back door for discriminating against US workers.'
Cloudera is a software company based in Santa Clara, California, that predominantly stores data and was started in 2008 by former engineers from Google, Yahoo, and Facebook.
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the DOJ said the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by intentionally discriminating against Americans.
The federal lawsuit said the company "upended its normal hiring process and did exactly what the law prohibits. ... Cloudera did not consider the applications some U.S. worker candidates submitted because the company earmarked certain jobs for workers on temporary employment visas."
Cloudera was accused of posting openings for at least seven jobs — paying between $180,000 and $294,000 per year — that asked U.S. applicants to submit applications to a dedicated email address. However, the address did not accept messages from external email accounts, and applicants simply received an error message in response.
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Therefore Cloudera did not have any record of a person applying for particular roles, the DOJ stated.
The alleged end result was Cloudera attempting to fill the roles with temporary foreign workers through the permanent labor certification process, while "repeatedly" telling the Department of Labor that it couldn't find any qualified American workers.
"Employers cannot use the PERM sponsorship process as a back door for discriminating against U.S. workers," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. "The Division will not hesitate to sue companies who intentionally deter U.S. workers from applying to American jobs."
The DOJ said an American worker alleged discrimination after attempting to apply to Cloudera via the designated email address but "received a bounce-back notification."
Cloudera spokeswoman Hannah Fairbanks said in a statement to Blaze News that the company is "proud to hire American workers."
"We do not discriminate against U.S. workers — or anyone — on the basis of citizenship status. We take the DOJ’s allegations seriously, and from the start, we have cooperated fully with the DOJ’s investigation, which stems from a recruiting email account that was simply not working as intended," she continued.
"We believe the government's claims misunderstand both our hiring processes and our intent, and we will address the matter through the appropriate legal channels. Cloudera is committed to fair, lawful, and open recruitment practices, and we will continue to cooperate with the DOJ as we work to resolve this matter. Because this is now pending litigation, we cannot comment further at this time."
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Cloudera is charged with one count of discrimination in hiring: deterring U.S. workers; one count of discrimination in hiring: failing to consider U.S. workers; and one count of discrimination in hiring: failing to hire U.S. workers.
Cloudera had a reported revenue of $869.3 million for fiscal year 2021 and was sold that October in an all-cash deal for approximately $5.3 billion.
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Paxton targets dozens of North Texas businesses after Sara Gonzales sounds alarm on H-1B fraud
Just a few months after BlazeTV's Sara Gonzales began exposing potential H-1B fraud in North Texas, the Office of the Attorney General has come out with a major announcement as a result of her investigations.
On Thursday morning, Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced that he is escalating his ongoing investigation into dozens of businesses in North Texas suspected of H-1B visa fraud.
'I want to thank Sara Gonzales for her efforts in exposing H-1B fraud across the state.'
Paxton announced that he has issued civil investigative demands into nearly 30 businesses as part of the investigation.
Among these companies, according to the press release, are Tekpro IT LLC, Fame PBX LLC, 1st Ranking Technologies LLC, Qubitz Tech Systems LLC, Blooming Clouds LLC, Virat Solutions Inc., Oak Technologies Inc., Techpath Inc., and Techquency LLC.
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These companies were added to the investigation into suspected fraudulent practices, including the maintenance of "so-called 'ghost offices' as a scheme in which businesses falsely represent active operations in order to sponsor foreign workers."
“I will not allow the H-1B program to be abused by bad actors seeking to use it as a loophole for allowing foreign nationals to invade Texas,” said Paxton. “My office will continue working to uncover and put an end to fraud within the H-1B program.”
Paxton has demanded financial statements, documents identifying all employees working for these companies, records detailing the specific products or services provided, and communications related to company operations, according to the press release.
On X, Paxton gave Gonzales a shoutout for her work: "I'm taking legal action as part of my investigation into nearly 30 North Texas businesses suspected of H-1B visa fraud. I want to thank @SaraGonzalesTX for her efforts in exposing H-1B fraud across the state."
"Thank YOU for taking action!" Gonzales replied.
Gonzales celebrated the announcement on social media: "AMAZING NEWS! Ken Paxton is taking action on my H-1B investigations!"
The host of "Sara Gonzales Unfiltered" reminded her viewers that Qubitz Tech Systems LLC was featured in her first series. She added that she and her team had come across the other companies in the course of their investigation and handed the information over.
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Sara Gonzales confronts owner of alleged H-1B visa & autism center scam — whistleblower tells all
Back in January, BlazeTV's Sara Gonzales released a bombshell report on an investigation into H-1B scams in Texas.
On Tuesday, Gonzales released another video of her investigation into an alleged H-1B farm posing as a day care and autism center — despite appearing to be non-operational when she visited.
'If you are not leave, I will call the police!'
And her investigation took some unexpected turns after she stumbled upon a whistleblower who was able to blow the lid off the whole operation and confronted the owner outside the buildings.
Gonzales started the video outside Allen Infant Care Center, which used to be called Golden Acorn Academy, according to her investigation. The day cares, Gonzales explained, are owned by a holdings company called Golden Qi Holdings LLC, which is also allegedly affiliated with DFW ABA Center, reportedly an autism behavioral therapy center.
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She showed that the complex was almost entirely empty and, notably, apparently devoid of children. The playground appeared to require maintenance and to be overtaken with tall grass and weeds.
Gonzales alleged that, on top of having an associated day care and autism center, they have sponsored "37 H-1Bs" and "they have filled out 55 Labor Condition Applications," citing USCIS data.
"The thing that is so curious about this [case] when you go digging in the data and the LCAs is that you wouldn't think that a day care center would need, you know, 'market research analysts' or 'supply chain analysts,'" Gonzales remarked.
"And yet, this company actually told the United States government that they needed foreign workers to fill those jobs," she further alleged.
While this investigation may have looked like it would take a normal course at the outset, Gonzales ran into a whistleblower at the premises who claimed to be familiar with the operation and who explained "just how bad this one gets."
The whistleblower alleged that the H-1B visa workers do not work on-site and that the immigration enforcement officials "know all about his H-1B visas," claiming that the owner has been investigated three or four times in the last three years.
She also alleged that the owner sells visas and then underpays the holders of those visas when they get to the United States. She described the company as a "foothold" in an immigration scheme.
Gonzales also confronted a man who appeared to be the owner of the companies she was investigating.
The man spoke with her in broken English, attempting to get her to simply talk to his lawyers on the phone instead. However, Gonzales kept pushing him to explain his alleged "pay-to-play" visa operation.
After some questioning, the man retreated to what Gonzales described as a "metallic rose gold BMW" with butterfly doors.
"Hey, is your dad a member of the CCP?" Gonzales asked as he slammed the door of his car.
The man drove down the road, turned around, then yelled out the window of his BMW, "If you are not leave, I will call the police!"
"I'll call the police on you for scamming my system!" Gonzales shouted after him as he sped away.
After the investigation on-site, Gonzales said that she and her team still have a lot of questions and will be referring their findings to USCIS and the Department of Labor.
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Oracle files for thousands of H-1B visas amid mass layoffs: 'Today is your last working day'
Oracle employees have been laid off as part of a "broader organizational change," with data revealing that the company has looked to hire thousands of foreign workers.
The software company, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is going through a huge transition as it prepares to back its infrastructural push toward artificial intelligence — reportedly at the cost of thousands of jobs.
'We are grateful for your dedication.'
Oracle cut thousands of jobs this week, a number that has not been narrowed since CNBC confirmed with insiders on Tuesday. The company may have already been looking ahead, however, as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data shows that Oracle has already filed thousands of petitions for H-1B visas in the past two years.
According to immigration services, the H-1B program allows employers to "temporarily employ foreign workers" for specialized skills. The federal data hub shows that Oracle America Inc. filed for 2,690 visas for fiscal year 2025, which covers Oct. 1, 2024 to Sep. 30, 2025.
At the same time, for fiscal year 2026, the company appears to have made 436 requests. If that number holds, the total through September 2026 will be 3,126.
Immigration services says petitioners can file for H-1B visas "no more than six months before the employment start date."
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Oracle reportedly began layoffs on Tuesday, sending out a letter that stated the company was eliminating roles as part of a broader company shift.
"As a result, today is your last working day," the letter read, per Business Insider. "We are grateful for your dedication, hard work, and the impact you have made during your time with us," it added.
Employees were also offered a severance package in line with their "severance plan."
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Reports from March suggested that the company was allegedly preparing to lay off between 20,000 and 30,000 employees, which would have represented upwards of 18% of its workforce, Yahoo reported.
Blaze News did not receive an immediate response from Oracle regarding its H-1B numbers, the jobs the visas are to replace, and how many would replace American workers.
Oracle has not provided public comment on the matter either.
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Putting America first this holiday: Trump DHS ends random work visa lottery
The Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security is changing regulations governing work visas, arguing the changes will protect American workers.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the DHS had implemented a new rule to change the H-1B recipient selection process, ending the current random lottery system in favor of prioritizing those with higher skills.
'As part of the Trump administration’s commitment to H-1B reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and aliens so as not to undercut American workers and to put America first.'
The agency contended that the new policy would “better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities for American workers.”
USCIS noted that the current random selection process has been criticized for “allowing unscrupulous employers to exploit it by flooding the selection pool with lower-skilled foreign workers paid at low wages, to the detriment of the American workforce.”
The not-yet-published final rule states that the new weighted selection process will favor higher-skilled, higher-paid foreign nationals while continuing to allow employers to obtain H-1Bs across all wage levels.
The rule will take effect on February 27 and apply to the H-1B registration season for fiscal year 2027.
“The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser stated.
“The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers. With these regulatory changes and others in the future, we will continue to update the H-1B program to help American businesses without allowing the abuse that was harming American workers.”
In September, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation requiring employers to pay an additional $100,000 per H-1B visa.
“As part of the Trump administration’s commitment to H-1B reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and aliens so as not to undercut American workers and to put America first,” Tragesser added.
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Up to 65,000 new H-1B visas can be issued each year, with an additional 20,000 for individuals with a master’s degree or higher. Recipients are generally admitted for up to three years, with the option to extend for up to another three years. Some recipients may be eligible for more than six years. Certain organizations, such as some universities and nonprofits, are exempt from the annual cap.
FWD.us estimated that there are as many as 730,000 H-1B holders in the U.S., along with 550,000 of their dependents, including spouses and children. The estimated total number of H-1B holders and their dependents exceeds the population of eight states, including Montana and Rhode Island.
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After Abusing Foreign Visa Program, Universities Claim Rules Shouldn’t Apply To Them
While the H-1B program needs to be cleaned up and significantly curtailed -- or even abolished -- there is no room in America to give institutions of higher education special treatment.Today's top stories
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