'Days of employers abusing H-1B visas are over': Project Firewall, explained
For the first time, the department will personally certify H-1B investigations, a signal that oversight of the visa program is now a top political priority.
- Sep 20, 2025,
- Updated Sep 20, 2025 9:55 AM IST
The U.S. Department of Labor has rolled out Project Firewall, a sweeping new enforcement campaign launched in September 2025 alongside Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee hike.
The initiative is designed to crack down on abuse of the visa program and put American workers first in high-skilled hiring.
For the first time, the department will personally certify H-1B investigations, a signal that oversight of the visa program is now a top political priority. Officials say the effort is aimed at stopping companies from using H-1B visas to replace qualified Americans with cheaper foreign talent or to suppress wages.
Under Project Firewall, the Department of Labor can investigate any employer with “reasonable cause” for suspected violations. That includes underpayment, poor working conditions, or discrimination against U.S. workers. Companies found guilty may face steep fines, back-pay penalties, and even bans from using the H-1B program in the future.
The DOL will also share enforcement data with the Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, creating an inter-agency firewall against abuse.
The political aim is clear: reinforce the administration’s “America First” stance by making it harder and costlier to rely on foreign workers unless they are truly indispensable.
Indian IT outsourcing firms — Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, and HCL — are expected to face the brunt of the crackdown, given their heavy use of H-1B visas for on-site staffing in the U.S. But American tech giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which also employ thousands of H-1Bs, will see stricter compliance demands as well.
Analysts warn of a “chilling effect”: companies may sharply scale back their use of H-1Bs, reserving them only for the most senior roles, while ramping up local U.S. hiring and offshore operations to avoid legal risks.
The U.S. Department of Labor has rolled out Project Firewall, a sweeping new enforcement campaign launched in September 2025 alongside Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee hike.
The initiative is designed to crack down on abuse of the visa program and put American workers first in high-skilled hiring.
For the first time, the department will personally certify H-1B investigations, a signal that oversight of the visa program is now a top political priority. Officials say the effort is aimed at stopping companies from using H-1B visas to replace qualified Americans with cheaper foreign talent or to suppress wages.
Under Project Firewall, the Department of Labor can investigate any employer with “reasonable cause” for suspected violations. That includes underpayment, poor working conditions, or discrimination against U.S. workers. Companies found guilty may face steep fines, back-pay penalties, and even bans from using the H-1B program in the future.
The DOL will also share enforcement data with the Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, creating an inter-agency firewall against abuse.
The political aim is clear: reinforce the administration’s “America First” stance by making it harder and costlier to rely on foreign workers unless they are truly indispensable.
Indian IT outsourcing firms — Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, and HCL — are expected to face the brunt of the crackdown, given their heavy use of H-1B visas for on-site staffing in the U.S. But American tech giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which also employ thousands of H-1Bs, will see stricter compliance demands as well.
Analysts warn of a “chilling effect”: companies may sharply scale back their use of H-1Bs, reserving them only for the most senior roles, while ramping up local U.S. hiring and offshore operations to avoid legal risks.