‘This is illegal’: Trump official says they will consider new ‘H-1B only’ job ad for New York State agency – The

Amid growing scrutiny of the H-1B visa program in the US, a new job posted on LinkedIn by one DP Prasad reached Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K Dhillon who termed it illegal and vowed to take action against it.

“This is illegal. We will look into this for civil rights,” Dillon said in response to the post, which only wanted H-1B candidates. This is not the first time an Indian-origin Trump official has warned of such vacancies. Earlier, she spoke out against LanceSoft, an IT recruitment company, which invited applications only from H-1B visa holders and strictly barred US citizens from applying. Dillon said at the time that a team from the Civil Rights Division was working with agencies and the White House on such cases, and the department was hiring staff, including attorneys, to handle such cases. In the latter case, a look at Prasad DP’s LinkedIn profile revealed that this person, based in South Carolina, is a business development manager at an IT company, which was hiring for its client the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, a state government office in Albany, New York.

Are all “H-1B only” job postings illegal?

H-1B-only job postings are common for IT consulting firms, also known as body shops, that hire employees and supply their clients.

The roles are mostly short-term, contract-based, and those already in the United States on H-1B visas are preferred for these roles. They can be considered illegal if they discriminate against American citizens. The H-1B visa program that allows companies to hire skilled professionals from foreign countries has come under fire under the Trump administration as MAGA strengthens its demand that American jobs not go to Indians or Chinese. While the Trump administration has imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa hires for companies, states like Florida and Texas have frozen H-1B hiring at specific government agencies and institutions of higher education.