Trump administration accuses Facebook of exploiting H1-B visas

The United States Justice Department accused Facebook Inc on Thursday of discriminating against US workers, saying in a new lawsuit the social media giant has given hiring preferences to temporary workers, including those who hold H-1B visas.

The Justice Department said Facebook had “refused” to recruit, consider or hire qualified US workers for more than 2,600 jobs that in many cases paid an average salary of $156,000 a year.

Instead, it opted to fill the positions using temporary visa holders, such as those with H-1B visas, the department added.

H-1B visas are often used by the technology sector to bring highly skilled foreign guest workers to the US.

But critics say the laws governing these visas are lax and make it too easy to replace US workers with cheaper, foreign labour.

“Facebook has been cooperating with the DOJ in its review of this issue and while we dispute the allegations in the complaint, we cannot comment further on pending litigation,” company spokesman Daniel Roberts said.