US bill seeks $250,000 fines, 10-year bans for serious H-1B violations

A Republican lawmaker in the US House has introduced legislation that would significantly increase the penalties facing employers found to have committed serious violations of the H-1B visa programme, as scrutiny of the foreign-worker system grows under the Trump administration.The H-1B Visa Fraud Crackdown Act, introduced by Texas Republican Rep. Beth Van Duyne on October 1, proposes raising the maximum fine for serious violations from $35,000 to $250,000. It would also extend the period during which companies could be barred from participating in immigration programmes.The bill is part of a wider effort in Congress and the Trump administration to tighten oversight of the H-1B system, which allows US employers to hire foreign workers for specialised occupations.Proposed penalties would rise sharplyUnder Van Duyne's proposal, the minimum ban on employers found responsible for serious H-1B violations would increase from three years to 10 years.