To retain the best global talent, many employers leverage the annual H-1B visa lottery to secure work authorization for new employees. The nature of a lottery, however, leads some employers to search for ways to improve their chances of securing that “winning ticket”—and a pathway to retaining key talent in the United States. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) noted that some employers had developed schemes with other entities to submit multiple submissions on behalf of the same prospective employee. In this Legal Update, we discuss the H-1B visa lottery process, which business practices are being targeted in the DHS probe, and what employers – and prospective employees – should be aware of in light of the investigations.

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