Posted on 01/29/2020 1:41:10 PM PST by NobleFree
A consortium of tech companies wants a $350 million refund on H-1B visa application fees—and it’s willing to sue U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in order to get it.
USCIS “has unlawfully charged United States companies approximately $350 million dollars in visa fees (likely more) over the past six years,” reads the lawsuit (PDF), filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “Plaintiffs now seek a refund.” (Hat tip to NFAP for posting the link to the court documents.)
In addition to the IT Serve Alliance, which claims it has more than 1,250 tech companies as members, the three named plaintiffs in the suit are iTech, SmartWorks, and Saxon Global, all three of which are staffing firms.
These plaintiffs insist that the USCIS is overcharging them for trying to renew the H-1B visa for immigrant workers who are already in the country; they argue that, under the law, only those workers entering the United States for the first time (i.e., initial applications) should be charged the $4,000 fee.
“An application for a change of status is not an application for admission,” the lawsuit states. “The Agency, therefore, started charging United States companies the Border Admission Fee on applications where they did not use the border.”
The named plaintiffs are all so-called “50/50” companies, in that they have 50 employees and at least half their workforce is on the H-1B or L visa. “Though ITServe, ITech, SmartWorks, and Saxon Global do not know the total number of 50/50 companies that paid these unlawful fees for the past six years,” the lawsuit continues, “the Congressional Budget Office projected the fees would amount to $150 million a year under PL 111-230 and $400 million a year under PL 114-113 and PL 115-123.” That’s the baseline that the plaintiffs used to arrive at that $350 million figure.
While this lawsuit might seem like an arcane squabble over accounting, it neatly encapsulates much of the fight over the H-1B visa at the moment. The Trump administration has systematically cracked down on the H-1B application process, with USCIS denying an ever-increasing amount of visas. Consulting and staffing companies have been hit especially hard by this trend, as you can see from the following graph:
“At least 12 companies that provide professional or IT services to other U.S. companies, including Accenture, Capgemini and others, had denial rates over 30 percent through the first three quarters of FY 2019,” read the National Foundation for American Policy’s report on the matter. “Most of these companies had denial rates between 2 percent and 7 percent as recently as FY 2015.”
Meanwhile, “pure” tech companies such as Amazon and Google haven’t experienced the same spike—with the exception of IBM, which also has a consulting and business-services arm:
USCIS has made it clear that the denials, along with some other recent administrative moves are “designed to protect U.S. workers, cut down on frivolous petitions, strengthen the transparency of employment-based visa programs, and improve the integrity of the immigration petition process” (to quote a USCIS spokesperson speaking to Mother Jones last year).
In response, tech and consulting firms have fired off lawsuits against the federal government. The IT Serve Alliance filed a lawsuit in 2018 that accused USCIS of approving visas for too short a term (weeks, rather than the “standard” three-year term). That’s in addition to the more than 40 immigration-related lawsuits filed against the federal government by outsourcing and consulting firms. (And let’s not forget the advocacy groups filing lawsuits to make the federal government crack down harder: Also in 2018, for instance, Save Jobs USA filed a suit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), claiming that the agency was taking too long to rescind the ability of certain spouses of H-1B visa holders to obtain the H-4 EAD, which would allow them to work in the United States.)
In light of that history, this most recent lawsuit over $350 million in “overcharges” is yet another in a long string of attempts by consulting companies to get the federal government to moderate its immigration approach. But so far, these lawsuits haven’t stopped USCIS and other agencies from continuing to tighten up the requirements and review process for the H-1B, H-4 EAD, and other visas.
Top. Kek.
I would get kicked off FR, if I posted the 4 letter words I want to say about those “tech” firms.
Isn’t that nice, even after paying a $4000 per year fee, per HIB Slave, it is still cheaper than Hiring Americans. Thank God for Donald J Trump for cracking down on this selling out of America.
End this sleazy anti American worker visa.
The government can (and does) charge whatever fees they want for administrative services. This suit should be tossed out on its ear.
H1B / Immigration bump for later....
I have lol Twice!
It’s not worth it.
So now I behave :)
They are disgusting. I know their goal is to make money and I don’t expect them to stand out front of their company waving the American Flag..but don’t Screw the country that’s been so good to you either.
Profits mean a lot to a company, I know.
So should Integrity.
Too bad. They all committed fraud. Not a single H1-B visa was ever justified. According to NumbersUSA more than 10 years ago, 1.4 working US citizens were displaced for every one H1-B visa issued.
Thousands of Indian H1-B insects are in the USA, pretending to be IT Recruiters (not a technical need fitting the requirements, and many of them have no technical knowledge). In those roles, they work to keep US citizens out of the IT positions, stealing personal and professional information from citizen applicants, and pushing unqualified Indian applicants into the jobs.
The whole H1-B visa program is a fraud, a genocidal program against American IT workers.
H1Bs should cost $10,000 per year per visa. Cash only.
I think they should pay a 1 million dollar fee per year per H1-B visa. If they can’t hire qualified US personnel, then 1 million is a small price to pay.
This might make you angry:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/28/the-list-123-republicans-foreign-workers/
Totally agree. Jail the Indian recruiters here for visa and identity fraud and for violations of EEOC law then remove the Indian H1B and H4EAD trash from this country who bring their foul backwards racist, castist culture into the United States, who are stealing from the American taxpayer through benefit fraud.
Waiting for an freep mail from a certain lying cheating Indian occupying Free Republic in 3.. 2.. 1.. my reply, as always will be “GTFO of the US and take your brethren with you”.
You and me both, then again I'm literally jumping for joy today as the big multi-national bank I work for terminated our contract with one of those offshore "tech" firms last week!!
We're adding 900+ good paying Tech Jobs back in the good ol' USA!
But so far, these lawsuits haven’t stopped USCIS and other agencies from continuing to tighten up the requirements and review process for the H-1B, H-4 EAD, and other visas.
We're adding 900+ good paying Tech Jobs back in the good ol' USA!
Thanks for the good news! More winning! (Did they discover that "cheap" labor didn't know its posterior from a hole in the ground?)
Not only do they not know their asses from holes in the ground, it was taking 10+ H1B's to replace the knowledge of one US based bank technology employee.
At that rate, they weren't cheaper either. They cost MORE.
We have an FTE to outsourced H1B rate of 1:9. The bank is vowing to turn that around within two years. It's freaking unbelievable the job posts we have out right now.
Each of them should be prosecuted for lying on the application form when they swore that no American was available for the job.
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