The Trump administration has opened a formal review into a job advertisement seeking H-1B visa holders, the Justice Department confirmed to Newsweek after a senior official said several federal agencies were examining the recruiting post. Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the department's Civil Rights Division, said on social media that the Justice Department was reviewing the advertisement alongside the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor after X users highlighted a recruiting email for a Massachusetts technology role that included the phrase "need H1b." "We are reviewing this and countless other examples of American employers engaging in alleged national origin discrimination," Dhillon wrote on X. The email advertised a Citrix administration position in Burlington, Massachusetts.
It was sent by a recruiter identified as Varshendra Chaturvedi of Next Level Business Services and described what appeared to be a contract role for Tata Consultancy Services, a technology giant in India commonly known as TCS. According to publicly available recruiting postings associated with Chaturvedi, the recruiter works for NLB Services, a staffing and IT services company in Georgia that provides technology recruiting and consulting services. Public job-board records show multiple postings attributed to Chaturvedi that contain language such as "need H1B candidates only." A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that a formal review had been opened, adding that the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section within the department's Civil Rights Division was handling the matter.
When asked whether advertisements explicitly seeking H-1B candidates violate federal law, the department spokesperson said such postings are prohibited under a federal law that bars citizenship-status discrimination in employment. "We will be reviewing this as a part of the Civil Rights Division's Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative," the spokesperson said.
Newsweek has contacted Next Level Business Services, Tata Consultancy Services, Chaturvedi, the EEOC and the Department of Labor for comment via email. The Trump administration is pursuing a major overhaul of the H-1B program, proposing new fees, revising visa selection criteria and increasing enforcement against employers accused of violating program rules. On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security proposed imposing an additional $103,265 fee on certain H-1B petitions selected through the annual cap process.
The proposal follows a separate Trump administration effort to require a $100,000 payment for some new H-1B petitions, though a federal judge later vacated the guidance implementing that requirement and an appeals court declined to keep it in place while litigation continues. The administration has also replaced the H-1B lottery with a process that would prioritize higher-paid applicants, revised prevailing-wage requirements and proposed the elimination of the grace period that allows some laid-off H-1B workers to remain in the United States while seeking new employment. The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, including many technology jobs.
Federal agencies have authority over different aspects of the program, while antidiscrimination laws generally prohibit hiring decisions based on protected characteristics, including national origin. The Justice Department, EEOC and Department of Labor each play roles in enforcing employment and immigration-related workplace laws. The visa program has become a divisive issue within Trump's political coalition.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
