Trump's "Project Firewall" Drives 48% Surge in H-1B Investigations as AI Tools Flag Employers

The Trump administration's Department of Labor has dramatically escalated enforcement of H-1B visa compliance rules, reporting a 48 percent increase in investigations since the launch of a program called "Project Firewall" in early 2026. The initiative deploys artificial intelligence tools to cross-reference H-1B petition filings against tax records, payroll data, and publicly available employer information, flagging discrepancies automatically for human investigators who then conduct unannounced worksite visits and demand extensive documentation from sponsoring employers. Immigration attorneys describe the enforcement environment as the most aggressive in the program's three-decade history.\n\nUnder Project Firewall, even minor paperwork inconsistencies — a job title that differs slightly between the original petition and a subsequent amendment, or a remote work arrangement that was not disclosed to the Department of Labor — can trigger a full compliance audit. The administration has also dramatically expanded information-sharing between the DOL, USCIS, and the Department of Homeland Security, creating a coordinated multi-agency review process that was largely absent under previous administrations. Companies that received clean H-1B approvals in prior years are finding themselves subject to retroactive scrutiny.\n\nThe tech industry, which employs the vast majority of H-1B workers, is absorbing the enforcement surge uneasily. Major firms including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and hundreds of smaller technology companies have reported receiving Requests for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Revoke filings for previously approved petitions. Several large IT consulting and staffing companies that place H-1B workers at third-party client sites — a practice known as "benching" that has long existed in a regulatory gray area — have had multiple petitions denied or revoked simultaneously.\n\nProject Firewall's scope extends beyond the H-1B program. The DOL has simultaneously tightened enforcement of prevailing wage requirements, which mandate that H-1B workers be paid at least the median salary for their occupation and location. Investigators have found that some employers classified workers at lower skill levels to reduce wage obligations, a practice that can result in back-pay liability and debarment from future visa sponsorship. In at least six cases reported to immigration attorneys this quarter, employers have faced six-figure back-wage assessments.\n\nThe broader legal immigration picture has darkened alongside the H-1B crackdown. Refugee admissions since October 2025 have totaled just 4,499 — compared to 125,000 admitted from 85 countries in the previous fiscal year — with nearly all non-Afghan refugees coming from South Africa. A federal judge in Massachusetts issued a separate ruling on April 9 blocking the administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians, finding that the revocation violated the procedural requirements Congress established. The administration has appealed. Taken together, the enforcement surge and admission collapse represent the most sweeping restructuring of legal immigration pathways since the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act.