F-1 students applying for STEM OPT should be aware SEVP is working with its U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) partners to investigate fraud among IT recruitment, consulting firms, and staffing agencies. These employment arrangements are a concern for fraud and are generally not an apt fit for STEM OPT opportunities. During recent site visits to such employers, SEVP and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) discovered numerous fraud indicators, including:
- Unoccupied and unused business locations
- Employers operating from personal residences listed as on-site employment locations, but no employees were present
- Businesses with “offshore” human resources and payroll personnel
- Employer officials with little knowledge regarding the operations of the companies they claim to represent
- Employer officials making inconsistent and contradictory statements about their businesses and the foreign students they employ
- Numerous foreign students claiming they were hired under STEM OPT who never actually showed up for work
- Inoperative telephone numbers
Employers and international students engaged in suspected fraud risk referral for administrative or criminal investigations by HSI and the U.S. Department of Justice.
If you have any questions about site visits or suspected fraud of a potential or current employer, please contact your OISS adviser.