US Bill Proposes H-1B Visa Violation Penalties up to $250,000

A new bill introduced in the US House of Representatives seeks to significantly increase penalties for violations of the H-1B visa programme. The H-1B Visa Fraud Crackdown Act, introduced on October 1 by Representative Beth Van Duyne of Texas, proposes raising the maximum fine for serious violations from $35,000 to $250,000. The bill also extends the ban on violators from participating in immigration programmes from at least three years to at least 10 years.

The legislation aims to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toughen penalties for both H-1B violations and immigration-related document fraud. For another category of violations, the bill proposes increasing the fine from $5,000 to $100,000, with the exclusion period from immigration programmes rising from two years to five years. Document fraud penalties would also see substantial increases under the proposed law.

The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and must clear both the House and Senate before becoming law. It does not mention any specific company or ongoing investigation but seeks to strengthen existing penalty provisions under US immigration law.

Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, Pete Sessions, Chris Smith, Randy Weber, and Pat Fallon have joined as co-sponsors of the bill. The Trump administration has previously indicated plans for stricter enforcement of the H-1B visa programme, focusing on alleged misuse and employer practices.