Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating nearly 30 North Texas businesses over alleged fraud and abuse of the federal H-1B visa program.
Paxton announced Thursday that his office issued Civil Investigative Demands to the companies as part of an expanding probe that began in January. The businesses are suspected of operating so-called “ghost offices” — fake or minimally active locations used to sponsor foreign workers through the H-1B program, which allows U.S. employers to hire professionals in specialty fields such as information technology and engineering when qualified American workers are unavailable.
The attorney general’s office is demanding employee records, financial statements, details on products and services offered, and internal communications to verify whether the companies are legitimate operations or sham entities created primarily to obtain visas…