Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued civil investigative demands to nearly 30 North Texas businesses suspected of abusing the federal H-1B visa program, his office announced April 30.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office identified nine additional entities under investigation: Tekpro IT LLC, Fame PBX LLC, 1st Ranking Technologies LLC, Qubitz Tech Systems LLC, Blooming Clouds LLC, Virat Solutions Inc., Oak Technologies Inc., Techpath Inc. and Techquency LLC.
Several businesses are suspected of operating “ghost offices” — a scheme in which companies falsely claim active operations in order to sponsor foreign workers through the H-1B program, the office said.
The demands require companies to produce employee records, documentation of products or services provided, financial statements and internal communications related to company operations.
“I will not allow the H-1B program to be abused by bad actors seeking to use it as a loophole for allowing foreign nationals to invade Texas,” Paxton said. “My office will continue working to uncover and put an end to fraud within the H-1B program.”
The action is part of a continuing investigation that has previously covered other Texas companies, according to the office. Paxton’s office said it is investigating participants in the program to ensure legal compliance and that the H-1B program puts the interests of Americans first.
Civil investigative demands are investigative tools, not findings of wrongdoing. The attorney general’s announcement did not state that any of the named companies had been charged.
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