H-1B Employer Violations and DOL Sanctions: Six Companies Blacklisted and the Three-Tier Debarment Rules
This article presents the DOL's recent blacklist of six H-1B willful violators with their debarment periods, and, based on a Shihab law firm article, explains that employer violations can bar I-140 and I-129 filings and that no petition may be approved during debarment regardless of filing date, along with the three-tier debarment rules by severity.
The Department of Labor recently published a new H-1B violation blacklist, with six companies listed, all classified as "willful violators," and therefore all subject to a two-year bar on sponsoring any immigrant or nonimmigrant visa.
Latest H-1B Blacklist
| Company | Blacklist Period |
|---|---|
| Bonzer, LLC | 9/4/2023 – 9/3/2025 |
| BER-IT, Inc. | 9/4/2023 – 9/3/2025 |
| Broadgate, Inc. | 6/21/2022 – 6/20/2024 |
| Macks USA, Inc. and Mujeeb Rahman, Individually | 5/24/2023 – 5/23/2025 |
| Packet One, LLC | 5/17/2023 – 5/16/2025 |
| Virtulytix, Inc. | 3/15/2023 – 3/14/2025 |
The following content is compiled from an article by immigration law firm Shihab, which explains three categories of H-1B employer violations and the corresponding penalties imposed by the Department of Labor.
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If an employer violates Department of Labor regulations (CFR § 655), it may be barred from submitting I-140 and I-129 petitions. Once the Department of Labor determines that a violation has occurred, it will enforce a "debarment period" during which the employer cannot apply for any immigrant or nonimmigrant visa.
In addition, during a mandatory debarment period, USCIS likewise may not approve any petition. As long as a petition is adjudicated during the debarment period, it must be denied regardless of when the employer filed it. Even if the petition was filed before the debarment period began, USCIS may not approve it during the debarment period. This rule applies to both H-1B nonimmigrant visas (Form I-129 petitions) and employment-based immigrant visas (Form I-140 petitions).
Case Analysis
Take a software company as an example: its I-140 petition for a computer systems analyst was denied by the USCIS Texas Service Center on the grounds that the company had been placed on the "violation blacklist." The company then appealed to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), arguing that the I-140 petition had been filed before the debarment period began and therefore should be approved. However, in a decision dated March 3, 2009, the AAO dismissed the appeal and upheld USCIS's original decision, stating that USCIS may not approve any petition during the debarment period, regardless of when the petition was filed.
Length of Debarment Period
The length of the debarment period is determined by specific regulations and is divided into three levels based on the severity of the violation:
- Level 1: Non-willful or minor violations
- Level 2: Willful violations, such as intentionally failing to comply with the terms of a certification letter, making false statements, or retaliating against whistleblowers.
- Level 3: Willful violations that cause layoffs, such as violating the terms of a certification letter or providing false information in court that results in the termination of U.S. workers.
Level 1 Violations
A debarment period of at least one year applies to:
- Strikes, lockouts, or layoffs of U.S. workers; insufficiently specific descriptions in labor condition applications; failure to hire U.S. workers as required, etc.
- Material misrepresentations regarding the description in the labor condition application, the hiring of U.S. workers, etc.
- Requiring employees to pay an "early termination penalty."
- Requiring employees to pay a $500 or $1000 filing fee.
- Certain violations related to public disclosure of information that obstruct regulators or the public from timely discovering and reporting violations.
Level 2 Violations
A debarment period of at least two years applies to:
- Willful failure to meet requirements regarding wages, working conditions, strikes/lockouts, notification procedures, labor condition applications, layoffs, or hiring of U.S. workers.
- Intentional distortion of facts in a labor condition application.
- Discrimination against employees.
Level 3 Violations
A debarment period of at least three years applies to employers that lay off U.S. workers in the same occupation within 90 days before or after filing an H-1B petition, and that also commit the following violations:
- Willful violations of requirements regarding wages, strikes/lockouts, notification procedures, labor condition applications, layoffs, or hiring.
- Material misrepresentations in a labor condition application.
