A newly launched federal audit into the Trump administration’s handling of H-2B visa applications follows a rule change by the Biden administration to expand foreign worker entry beyond congressionally set limits.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Federal officials have opened an audit of President Donald Trump’s Department of Labor amid rising tensions over the distribution of H-2B visas for foreign workers.
According to a government letter obtained by PATRICK REPORTS, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) is reviewing the Employment and Training Administration’s backlog of H-2B visa applications. The investigation, which began April 15, came weeks after Trump’s Labor Department reached its legal visa issuance limit and follows efforts by the former Biden administration to expand foreign labor access in fiscal year 2025.
Backlog of H2B Engagement Engagement Ltr_041425 by yourNEWS Media
The USCIS announced in March 2025 that the cap of 66,000 H-2B visas for the year—33,000 per half-fiscal—had already been reached. But just months earlier, on December 2, 2024, after the presidential election loss, Biden’s DHS and DOL implemented a rule authorizing an additional 64,716 supplemental visas, including 20,000 reserved for nationals from seven foreign countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, as detailed in a USCIS directive.
Now, as the Trump administration navigates political backlash over the Biden-era expansions, the inspector general’s office has initiated a formal audit of the Labor Department’s visa processing practices. The review is being led by DOL “assistant inspector general for audit” Laura B. Nicolosi, a longtime federal official whose biography shows decades of involvement with the inspector general community.
In a formal engagement letter dated April 15, 2025, Nicolosi informed DOL acting assistant secretary for employment and training administration Amy Simon and other Trump officials that the audit would assess whether the ETA had made improvements in processing H-2B applications.
“Please be advised the Office of Inspector General is initiating an audit with the objective of determining whether the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) can demonstrate its corrective actions improved the processing of H-2B applications,” Nicolosi wrote. “We plan to begin work immediately after our meeting.”
H-2B visas allow foreign nationals to work temporarily in non-agricultural sectors such as hospitality, and can be renewed annually for up to three years. Overstays have been repeatedly acknowledged by the federal government. While Congress sets the legal cap at 66,000 per year, Biden’s additional issuance plan—rolled out after the election—has drawn criticism from those who argue it circumvents legislative authority.
The audit comes as part of broader resistance within the federal bureaucracy to the Trump administration’s attempt to halt further visa allocations. The rule change by DHS and DOL introduced an unprecedented surge in supplemental H-2B visas. Critics argue that the expansion prioritizes foreign labor over unemployed American workers, especially in industries that traditionally draw from the domestic workforce.
The inspector general’s findings have not yet been posted on the DOL OIG’s public website, suggesting the audit remains in progress. The acting head of the inspector general’s office, Michael Mikulka, previously received a promotion during the Obama administration, further fueling concerns of bureaucratic entrenchment aligned with globalist policy goals.
As the audit unfolds, the Trump administration faces mounting pressure to preserve limits on visa distribution and shield American labor interests from what some view as an effort to institutionalize foreign workforce reliance through administrative maneuvering.