Under the H-1B program, United States Citizenship and Immigrations Services [USCIS] Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate [FDNS] routinely visits H-1B employers to validate the information submitted in H-1B petitions. USCIS started the Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program in July of 2009. The purpose of these visits is to verify the employer’s [JHU’s] existence and confirm the H-1B employee’s work is consistent with the information that was provided in JHU’s H-1B petition. These visits may occur in person, by phone, or by email. It is important to remember that these visits are routine and are not indicative of any problem with the employee’s H-1B status or JHU’s H-1B petition.
So that department representatives and H-1B employees are prepared if contacted by a USCIS FDNS inspector, review the steps below for an in-person H-1B site visit, as well as appropriate steps if contacted by email or phone for a remote H-1B site visit.
IN-PERSON SITE VISIT
- Ask the inspector to present to you with his/her USCIS badge and to provide you with a business card
- It may be helpful, but is not necessary, to locate a copy of the H-1B employee’s job description and/or the H-1B sponsorship letter that your department provided to OIS when requesting H-1B sponsorship for the employee. If you cannot locate the H-1B Sponsorship Letter, please email [email protected]
- Limit your answers to only the specific questions that you have been asked. If you do not know the answer, do not guess
- If during the course of the visit the inspector asks you to complete a questionnaire or provide information on how the H-1B employee’s salary/wage was derived, refer them to [email protected]
- Once the inspector leaves your work site, email [email protected]. An H-1B advisor will send you a link to the FDNS Site Visit Reporting eForm
- Submit the FDNS Site Viste Reporting eForm as soon as possible after the visit ends
Occasionally the inspector may send a request for additional information following the in-person site visit. If this happens, email [email protected] for guidance on responding. OIS will also send you a link to the FDNS Site Visit – Additional Documentation eForm for completion.
REMOTE SITE VISIT
- As identify theft, and other acts of fraud are often perpetrated by phone, we suggest that you explain to the inspector that you would prefer to comply with the request by email, and we ask that you provide the inspector with your Johns Hopkins University email address [not a personal email address]. This will allow you to verify that the email address of the sender is consistent with other site visits
- H-1B site visits conducted by email should come from an inspector with a “@uscis.dhs.gov” email address
- Contact [email protected] before responding to the email for guidance on sending a comprehensive response
- After consulting OIS and discussing your response, forward a copy of the email exchange to [email protected]. An H-1B advisor will send you a link to the FDNS Site Visit Reporting eForm
Occasionally the inspector may send a request for additional information following the in-person site visit. If this happens, email [email protected] for guidance on responding. OIS will also send you a link to the FDNS Site Visit – Additional Documentation eForm for completion.
Contact OIS at [email protected] for any questions.
back to main page
