H-1B visa fraud: US lawmaker Rich McCormick flags Atlanta as ‘hotspot’ amid immigration crackdowns | Hindustan Times

A US lawmaker from Georgia has urged the Trump administration to investigate alleged widespread H-1B visa fraud in the Atlanta metro area and its suburbs.Rich McCormick, a Republican US House Representative from Georgia's 7th Congressional district, has written multiple communications to the Trump administration officials urging a probe into alleged abuse of H-1B visas in the Atlanta area. Rep. McCormick's push for an investigation comes as he looks to defend his House seat in the November 2026 midterm elections. The Atlanta metro area, including parts of the city's suburbs, mostly fall within Fulton County, a stronghold of the Democrats.It Opens Door For Potential H-1B Fraud Investigation In AtlantaRep. McCormick's call for the Trump administration to investigate comes against the backdrop of Trump's July announcement of a countrywide probe on US visa fraud. As part of the crackdown, on-the-ground searches were conducted in various cities, especially in Red states.Also read: Trump administration signals ‘big week’ on foreign labor visas as US immigration crackdown intensifiesFor instance, in August, the US Department of Labor investigators conducted checks in Dallas, Texas, on companies with hundreds of approved H-1B petitions. A press release from the Inspector General said then that numerous inactive businesses with over 500 approved H-1B applications were found during the investigation.With Rep. Rich McCornick now urging the Trump administration to start an investigation, a similar crackdown could take place on businesses and H-1B Visa holders in Atlanta."Unfortunately, the H-1B program has become the subject of rampant fraud and abuse for the nefarious purposes of obtaining labor that bad actors can exploit below-market-rate wages and abusive work conditions given H-1B holders’ dependence on retaining their employment in order to avoid removal back to their country of origin," McCormick wrote in an X post."Bad actors have developed illicit methods for meeting the requirements for obtaining H-1B visas and the necessary work authorizations, and they employ these methods at scale to enrich themselves through fraud and exploitation via the most threadbare compliance with the letter of the law," he added.Also read: H-1B visa program could look ‘very different in 365 days’, Trump administration warns as fraud crackdown expandsH-1B Visas Come Under Increased Scrutiny Amid Fraud AllegationsThe Trump administration has been repeatedly signaling that the system for H-1B visas is allegedly being misused by many US businesses. On October 2, Vice President JD Vance wrote in an X post that the H-1B Visa system is "completely broken" and he would support eliminating it.Vance posted a video on his social media handles alleging that the H-1B visa system is been “totally taken advantage of.” Vance says in the video: "“If you’re going to bring in an accountant making $45,000 a year to replace an accountant who is an American making $60,000 a year, that’s not you using the program to bring in a genius.”“That’s you destroying American jobs and defrauding the American people,” he said, adding that in his view, "the H1-B program is completely broken."