The Trump administration has launched its first major investigation into alleged H-1B visa abuse, US Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito was quoted by Fox Business as saying on Wednesday.

D'Esposito said that investigators have already begun issuing dozens of subpoenas as part of the fraud investigation, according to the report.

An H-1B visa is a non-immigrant work visa that allows companies in the United States to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations, including software developers. Tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google have long relied on the visa program.

The H-1B visa is initially granted for a three-year period and can be extended for up to a total of six years.

In September 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation raising the fee that companies pay to sponsor H-1B applicants to $100,000, saying that the "large-scale replacement" of US workers through "systemic abuse" of the program has undermined the country's economic and national security.

In June 2026, a federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts, struck down the $100,000 fee requirement, ruling that the administration exceeded its authority by imposing a tax that only Congress can authorize or delegate.