The H-1B program is undergoing even more scrutiny under the current White House administration. Under the “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order, the goal is for companies to hire only the best and the brightest for visa sponsorship, mostly H-1B visa holders. The Department of Labor (DOL), the governmental agency that handles the public disclosure information for employers looking to sponsor H-1B employees, has always released information for Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) in conjunction with the H-1B petition. The LCA has traditionally disclosed information including employer name, address, salary wage range, and worksite location, among other attestations the employer must make to meet labor and immigration laws. In November 2018, the DOL changed the format of the LCA to include those employers that place employees at a third-party client site, many of which petition for their own H-1B workers. See our November 2018 blog post here.

Due to the new format of the LCA, information is now publicly available regarding where consulting companies send their employees. This extra degree of transparency has sparked concern and possible new lawsuits over discrimination and hiring practices. This move has been seen as targeting staffing/consulting companies, with policy memos issued to ensure that these staffing and consulting companies adhere to the strictest standards, as blogged here.