The Justice Department has left in place an administrative law judge’s ruling on job ads aimed at H-1B visa holders.
Attorney General Todd Blanche let the 60-day review period expire for the August 12, 2026, decision from the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, or OCAHO. The judge dismissed a complaint alleging that Boston Consulting Group discriminated against U.S. workers through H-1B-focused recruitment.
Thirteen House Republicans had urged Blanche to review the decision. In an October 9 letter led by Representatives Paul Gosar and Chip Roy, they wrote: “If employers can expressly target foreign workers while discouraging Americans from applying, those protections are substantially weakened.”
The department said it reviewed the decision and concerns raised by stakeholders. “The Department thoroughly reviewed the ALJ's decision and stakeholder concerns, and ultimately determined that the underlying decision was consistent with OCAHO precedent,” it said. The department added: “The Department aggressively targets employers who discriminate against American workers through unlawful hiring practices.”
The order arose from a complaint involving nine U.S. citizens
The case, US Tech Workers, et al. v. BCG, Inc., OCAHO Case No. 2024B00040, was brought under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. The August 12 order granted BCG’s motion to dismiss.
US Tech Workers filed its complaint on February 9, 2024, alleging citizenship-status discrimination. BCG answered on March 27, 2024, and denied the allegations. The complainant described itself as a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization made up of nine “injured parties,” each said to be a U.S. citizen.
The complaint focused on Chicago H-1B Connect, a recruitment activity that has since ended. The organization alleged it directed recruitment toward H-1B workers in the Chicago area. BCG is based in Boston.
Two members applied in 2023. John Robert applied for a “TDA/Platanion Core” Technology Senior IT Consultant position on or about January 31, while Stephen Elwood applied for a Forward Deployed Data Engineer role on or about March 6. BCG interviewed Robert on February 15 and later rejected him. It denied Elwood employment on March 17, 2023.
The complaint did not detail the duties of either job or say whether the applicants identified themselves as U.S. citizens. It also did not say whether BCG hired noncitizens for the jobs or left the positions vacant.
BCG moved to dismiss and stay the case on May 24, 2024. The complainant filed a response on May 29, which OCAHO treated as a motion for partial summary judgment. The organization also sought to consolidate similar cases against other companies. OCAHO rejected that request on January 30, 2025, in US Tech Workers v. Boston Consulting Grp. (BCG), Inc., 20 OCAHO no. 1580b, 2 (2025).
John M. Miano represented the complainant. Leon Rodriguez and Dawn Lurie represented BCG.
The judge treated the ads as evidence, not a separate violation
The judge held that “discriminatory advertising does not represent a discrete cause of action under the INA.” The ruling says such ads may serve as evidence in claims involving nonselection, recruitment or termination, rather than as independent violations.
The order contrasted the immigration law with Title VII. That law, at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(b), bars employers from publishing ads indicating preferences or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The judge said 8 U.S.C. § 1324b contains no equivalent standalone prohibition on advertising that discriminates based on citizenship status or national origin.
Miano criticized the result. “The whole 25 years of prosecuting companies” over such practices “is set back 25 years by this,” he said.
Blanche let the review window expire despite lawmakers' request
The representatives’ letter argued the ruling “suggests that section 274B does not provide a cause of action for discriminatory advertising.”
The decision followed other enforcement actions under the Civil Rights Division’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, relaunched in 2025. Those matters involved allegations of excluding U.S. workers during recruitment or hiring, rather than a claim based only on the existence of an ad.
In a settlement announced April 6, 2026, New Jersey professional-services provider Compunnel Software Group agreed to pay $313,420. The total included $58,000 in back pay to a U.S. citizen not considered for a Python Developer job and $255,420 in civil penalties. The department also alleged that a recruiting email said the company wanted certain visa holders for a software developer position. Compunnel did not admit liability. It was the initiative’s ninth settlement.
Virginia IT provider Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions agreed to pay $9,460 to the Treasury in two installments under a settlement dated February 23, 2026, and announced February 25. The agreement required a review and revision of employment policies within 60 days and barred discrimination based on citizenship status, immigration status or national origin. The department said AI-generated ads had restricted consideration to H-1B, OPT or H-4 applicants. Elegant was the initiative’s eighth settlement.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said of the Compunnel case: “It's illegal to discourage U.S. workers from applying for American jobs.” She also said employers must design recruitment, training and compliance practices to follow federal civil-rights laws.
EEOC guidance separately warns about national-origin discrimination
The EEOC has separately cautioned that preferring H-1B workers may violate Title VII’s national-origin protections. Its Technical Assistance document cited ads stating “H-1B preferred” or “H-1B only.” The agency’s guidance followed acting chair Andrea Lucas’s pledge to step up civil-rights enforcement.
That guidance grew out of coordination with the Labor Department’s Project Firewall, which aims to ensure employers prioritize qualified U.S. workers and hold companies accountable for H-1B abuses. Section 274B also bars employers with four or more employees from discriminating in hiring, firing or recruitment based on citizenship status or national origin.
The ruling came amid separate enforcement involving employment-based green-card recruitment. The department announced that online grocery company Instacart would pay $5 million to settle allegations concerning PERM jobs. Data company Cloudera had agreed the previous week to a two-year bar from the PERM program.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
