Recent increase in FDNS site visits

What is a USCIS FDNS Site Visit?

A USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) site visit is intended to ensure compliance with immigration regulations and verify information pertaining to the most recent immigration filing. These site visits can occur in person, at the office, at remote worksites (if listed on the LCA), via telephone call, or over email. Additionally, these site visits often occur without any advance notification. During the visit, the officer will likely request information related to the government filing, pay records, and other documentation related to the terms and conditions listed in the immigration filing. The officer may request to meet with the person who signed the immigration filing and/or the foreign national employee. In recent years, FDNS site visits have become increasingly more common.

Who is Subject to a Site Visit? 

FDNS randomly selects employers for site visits after USCIS adjudicates their petitions. Compliance Review site visits are limited to the following immigration categories:

• H-1B nonimmigrant temporary visas (after adjudication);
• L-1 nonimmigrant intracompany transferee executive or manager visas (after adjudication); EB-5 immigrant investor program visas (before adjudication); and
• R-1 religious workers petitions (before and after adjudication).

What should you do if you are subject to an FDNS Site Visit?

First of all, routine site visits should not be a cause for concern and it is important not to panic.

Moreover, as stated on the Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program page, participation in a site visit is voluntary, although strongly encouraged because if you choose not to participate, the officer will complete the site visit based on information available to them.

If you choose to participate, you should immediately call your immigration counsel and have a company official be present for the conversation. If you are unable to get in touch with your immigration counsel during the initial visit, call your attorney after the visit and notify them of the exact dialogue that occurred between the officer and employer and/or employee. Likely, the officer will email the employer and/or foreign national employee following the site visit to request documentation and additional information. At this time, your immigration counsel can prepare the documentation and submit a truthful and thorough response that corroborates with the information included in your immigration filings. Your immigration counsel should also ensure that their response adequately addresses any issue(s).

Please note that there are many scams targeting immigrants, it is crucial to confirm that the “officer” is in fact a member of the USCIS FDNS office. Your attorney can reach out to the officer to confirm this before communicating with the officer.

What are the next steps?

Once the FDNS immigration officer receives the information and documentation requested during the site visit, they will send their Compliance Review Report to a USCIS officer for review. If the USCIS officer does not suspect fraud or noncompliance, your participation in the site visit will be over.

It is important to be familiar with the information in your immigration filings and to report any changes to your immigration counsel so they can advise you in any necessary steps to maintain compliance with immigration regulations. If you are subject to an FDNS site visit or have questions or concerns pertaining to FDNS site visits, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of the attorneys in our office.