Code of injustice: How foreign visa workers took over America’s immigration systems
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), tasked with protecting the American workforce, has increasingly outsourced its core operations, including the development of its immigration systems, to private contractors who employ foreign workers on H-1B visas.
But the problem runs deeper than outsourcing.
The online system known as the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) is now central to processing H-1B Visas for nonimmigrant workers in specialty occupations, as well as the Permanent Employment Certification (PERM) process that enables foreign workers, including H-1B holders, to obtain green cards and remain in the U.S. through employer sponsorship.
While this platform serves as the gatekeeper for employment-based visas, it has quietly been outsourced to private contractors, many of whom actively hire H-1B visa workers themselves. In other words, foreign workers are now engineering and overseeing the same system that governs their own visa approvals.
This raises a fundamental conflict of interest. How can a system that exists to protect the interests of American labor be entrusted to contractors who profit from importing foreign labor? And how can Americans trust that the system hasn’t been quietly optimized to favor those it was meant to regulate?
Let that sink in.
This is not a hypothetical issue. Industry experts, along with data published by the Department of Labor (DOL), confirm that many of the DOL’s core systems, as well as those of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are being developed by firms that depend on imported labor. This situation provides foreign workers not only access to America’s immigration gatekeeping infrastructure but also valuable insights into how the system functions, who is applying and how to enhance their chances of approval.
And it shows.
A foreign-run website called PERMtimeline.com is now publishing real-time case data, status changes and analytics on Permanent Employment Certification (PERM) filings, information that is not available to the American public through any official government source. The site openly admits it uses DOL’s internal query systems to feed its dashboard. That raises a serious question: How are they getting access to this data and who inside the system is enabling it?
“Welcome to PERM Timeline! We are dedicated to providing the most current processing time information for PERM applications (Form ETA-9089). As immigrants ourselves, we deeply understand the uncertainty and stress associated with this process.
“Our platform utilizes the Department of Labor’s query system to deliver accurate and timely data on PERM applications submitted after June 2023… This enhancement ensures that you receive the most reliable information to navigate your PERM application process with greater certainty and confidence.”
The data on the immigrant-operated website provides comprehensive information on government form applications submitted to the Department of Labor, including their current statuses as they undergo processing by the department. Additionally, it features published metrics and timelines for processing times, reflecting any changes made by the Department of Labor.
The Department of Labor intends to provide Americans with “transparency” by making these applications available through their Performance Data. However, it is important to note, as stated in the Department’s data disclosure statements and confirmed by users, that the information released for public review is only accessible after a final determination has been made on each application, covering only a portion of submissions.
For instance, the case disclosure files encompass determinations issued between October 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024, while the PERM Timeline includes application data as early as April 30, 2025. To address any concerns regarding the authenticity of the data, it has been verified for accuracy and authentication by the Department of Justice.
Recent changes within the FLAG system only deepen these concerns. In a February 2025 update to the FLAG platform, the agency introduced a rule allowing employers to quietly withdraw a case even after requesting review, so long as it hasn’t been forwarded to BALCA (the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals). Once that happens, the case disappears. It is scrubbed from oversight, hidden from future audits and never made public.
This change allows employers to quietly erase evidence of failed labor certification attempts, shielding potential misuse of the system from public accountability. It makes it significantly harder for oversight bodies and American job seekers to monitor abuse, track trends, or understand the true scope of visa-based hiring.
At the same time, key data detailed on the Permanent Employment Certification (PERM) Form 9089, that was once made public by the DOL has been removed.
In its revised disclosure datasets, the DOL has removed key fields that previously allowed policymakers, oversight bodies and the public to monitor employer compliance with labor certification rules. These changes are not minor. They obscure core indicators of potential fraud, bad-faith recruitment and systemic discrimination against U.S. workers.
This disparity raises serious questions. Who is enabling access to internal DOL data? Are foreign workers within DOL-contracted firms providing preferential insights to immigrant communities or immigration-focused platforms? And why has the federal agency responsible for labor protections chosen opacity over transparency?
Why this matters
These details were essential for analyzing whether employers were inflating job criteria to eliminate American applicants and tailor job descriptions around pre-selected foreign candidates. Without this data, watchdog groups and analysts can no longer investigate whether job requirements were structured to evade fair recruitment standards.
In short, Americans are locked out, while foreign nationals, through H-1B-staffed contractors and immigrant-run platforms, have front-row seats, insider access and algorithmic control over America’s labor pipeline.
This isn’t just a technical issue. It’s a national betrayal.
When the system designed to protect American labor is built and run by those who benefit from its exploitation, there is no oversight, only surrender. This is no longer just a question of technology. It is a question of sovereignty, accountability and whether the federal government is still acting in the best interest of its own citizens. A system built on secrecy, developed by foreign labor and designed without public oversight is not a secure system. It is a compromised one.
Congress, state attorneys general and the American public must demand an immediate return of full labor data transparency, a forensic audit of FLAG system access and a formal investigation into contractor practices and data handling.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Department of Labor as we continue our investigation.