DPE Commends USCIS for Taking Action to Address Gaming of H-1B Visa Lottery, Renews Call for Reform
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Katie Barrows
Communications Director
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 - On Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a notice that it has found evidence that some employers are abusing the H-1B registration process, thereby increasing their chances of winning H-1B visas to hire workers from outside of the country in this year’s lottery.
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning released the following statement on the USCIS findings:
“I appreciate that USCIS is taking action to address part of a problem DPE and our affiliated unions, whose members span immigration statuses and include H-1B workers, have been calling attention to for years - employers can, and do, game the H-1B visa lottery system. While USCIS's announced actions are a welcome development, as long as the lottery system exists, companies will take advantage of it to the detriment of all professionals. DPE continues to advocate for a wage-based visa allocation system. Wage-based allocation of H-1B visas would provide a market-based process to ensure that H-1B workers can earn fair wages and employers who truly cannot find available workers can meet their staffing needs. This common-sense reform would go a long way to reforming the H-1B visa program so that it works for U.S. professionals and those employed on H-1B visas.
DPE again calls on USCIS to use its regulatory authority to adopt a wage-based H-1B visa allocation process to fully address the unfair gamesmanship it has identified. Additionally, DPE urges Congress to address the broader issues that plague the current H-1B visa system by passing the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act.”
About DPE
The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.