The Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) Directorate was formed to protect the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. It does this in part by conducting impromptu inspections of H-1B and L-1A workers. Under the new administration it is anticipated that FDNS inspections will increase.

FDNS officers typically appear unannounced at a work location listed in the H-1B or L-1A petition on behalf of a particular employee. For individuals working remotely from their homes, this means that an FDNS officer may come to their residence unannounced to determine if they are complying with the terms of the petition filed on their behalf. 

Typically, FDNS officers seek to determine if an individual is:

• Working at the location(s) listed in the petition.
• Working in the position (job title and description) provided in the petition.
• Being paid the wage described in the petition.
• Working the number of hours/week as described in the petition.
• Whether the employee was made to pay for any part of the petition other than premium processing.

An FDNS officer will typically question the employee, the employee’s supervisor (including client site supervisor for those working at a 3^rd party client site) and the petitioner’s (employer’s) representative and/or supervisor.

How to best prepare for an FDNS inspection:

1.     When a petition is approved, the employee should immediately be provided with a copy of the petition and should review the petition in detail, especially:

a.      Work location(s) listed in the forms.

b.     Wage offered.

c.      Job title and description as set forth in the petition letter.

d.     End client (if applicable). H-1B employees should check the following forms to determine if an end client is listed for their petition: Form ETA-9035E, Form I-129, H-1B support letter. 

An H-1B employee exclusively working remotely from their home will not have end clients listed. This is the difference between providing staffing services (end client listed and the end client’s address is provided as a work location) or working directly on a project for a client through your employer (no end client listed and no end client work location).

2.     The employee should share these documents with their supervisor (both onsite client supervisor, if applicable, and employer’s supervisor) and ask the supervisor(s) to become familiar with the way the position is described in the petition so they can accurately respond to an FDNS officer’s questions. 

3.     If anything in the petition is inaccurate, bring this to the attention of the employer right away.

4.     If the employee’s work location has changed and we determined that the new work location is within the same Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and prepared a new Notice of Filing (NOF) to be posted at the new work location, the employee should be ready to present the completed NOF to the FDNS officer as evidence of posting at the new work location.

5.     All foreign national employees are required by law to notify USCIS within 10 days of moving to a new residence. They should also advise their employers well in advance of moving so that we can determine whether an amended petition must be filed with USCIS to keep the employer and employee in compliance with U.S. immigration laws in situations in which the employee works remotely from home.

6.     If an employee is working at an office location (the employer’s office, end client’s office, or both) and an office work address will change, they should advise the employer well in advance of the change so that we can determine whether an amended petition must be filed with USCIS.

7.     Relax. When an FDNS officer arrives, don’t get nervous. As long as the employee is doing the job described in the petition, the employee and employer should be found to be in compliance. FDNS officers do not have the power to revoke a petition. If they recommend to USCIS that a petition be revoked, USCIS will provide us with an opportunity to respond and provide supporting evidence.

8.     Before the FDNS inspection commences, the employee should ask to see the FDNS officer’s government-issued credentials/ID and should request a business card. Following the inspection, the business card should be scanned/ photographed and provided to the employer together with a summary of the inspection (the questions asked, the answers given to each, the documents provided to the FDNS officer, whether the FDNS officer is awaiting any other information/documents to be provided following the in-person inspection).

9.     The employee and/or supervisor, should be able to satisfactorily respond to the FDNS officer’s questions regarding the position, work location, wage, etc., based on their familiarity with the petition documents reviewed. See steps 1 & 2.

10. The employee should be able to produce recent pay stubs (and W-2s, if requested) at the FDNS officer’s request.

11. If some pay stubs show reduced or no hours worked; for example, due to taking an unpaid leave of absence, the employee should be able to explain this to the FDNS officer. Note that for most H-1B petitions, the weekly hours are listed as 10-40 hours/week. This permits a fluctuation in hours due to holidays or other factors. Form I-129, which is part of the petition, will list the number of hours worked each week if not full time.

12. Listen to the question asked and answer that question, and only that question, but answer it truthfully. If you don’t hear/understand the question, ask for it to be repeated/clarified. 

13. Do not offer additional information/documents that were not specifically requested by the FDNS officer.

14. Do not answer questions that you are unsure of. For example, if asked how many people are working on a particular project, it is fine to say that you do not know, if that is the case.