A new bill introduced in the US House of Representatives proposes substantially higher penalties for violations of H-1B visa rules, signalling a sharpened focus on the programme under the Trump administration. For certain serious H-1B violations, the legislation would raise the maximum penalty from $35,000 to $250,000, while extending the minimum period for which violators can be barred from immigration programmes from 3 years to 10 years.
The bill is currently under review by the House Judiciary Committee and has not yet become law. To take effect, it must be passed by the House and then by the Senate, before receiving the president’s assent. For a separate category of H-1B violation, the existing penalty of $5,000 would rise to $100,000, with the minimum debarment period extended from 2 years to 5 years.
The proposal also targets immigration document fraud. For one category of such fraud, the current fine of $250 to $2,000 would be raised to between $1,000 and $10,000, while for a more serious category, the existing range of $2,000 to $5,000 would increase to between $20,000 and $50,000. The changes would be implemented by amending Section 274C of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Until the bill is enacted, existing penalties for H-1B violations and immigration document fraud will continue to apply. The bill’s stated aim is to raise penalties for violations of certain H-1B non-immigrant visa rules by amending the Act’s provisions on H-1B violations and document fraud. It does not name any company or refer to any specific investigation.