Wage mismatch: Why did USCIS revoke an H-1B petition in Florida? Here’s what happened

Wage mismatch and an H-1B petition revoked in Florida.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they revoked an H-1B petition in Florida because of an issue over wage mismatch. While it was an individual case, it serves as a warning against such practices, as the agency reminded the petitioners that these are not going unnoticed now.“USCIS officers found an H-1B petition in Florida that understated a job’s requirement, listing two years when the end client confirmed more than seven were required. The discrepancy could have lowered the appropriate wage level by about $40,000. These findings led to the petition being withdrawn and revoked, protecting American workers from unfair wage competition,” the USCIS posted last week.

What was the case?

USCIS officers detected a significant discrepancy in an H-1B visa petition in Florida, revealing that the employer understated the experience required for a specialized role to lower the worker’s salary by nearly $40,000.According to federal officials, the filed H-1B petition listed a job requirement of just two years of experience.However, during the adjudication process, immigration officers reached out to the end client, who confirmed that the role actually demanded more than seven years of specialized experience.In the US immigration system, an employer’s required wage level is tied directly to the complexity and experience demands of the position. By falsely underreporting the job’s requirements by five years, the petitioner effectively misclassified the role to qualify for a lower prevailing wage level, creating an approximate $40,000 salary deficit compared to the appropriate rate.Instead of going by the petition, USCIS reached out to the end client who needed the H-1B worker. This means the recruiting company which filed the petition was in the wrong.

Handcuffs are ready

The Department of Labor has unleashed a major crackdown on visa abuses, and they began the checks not at tech companies but at colleges, as international students get to do OP and STEM OPT as they finish their courses and then pass on to the H-1B pipeline.DOL Inspector General said a secure border means locking every door, including the H-1B back door too. “Fake employers. Sham jobs. Visa mills. Worker exploitation. The loopholes are closing. The raids are real. The handcuffs are ready. Under @POTUS, America First means American workers first,” D’Esposito said.The Donald Trump administration also passed an executive order that companies that fire Americans and hire H-1Bs will be probed.