The US Department of Labour has updated the list of companies which are barred from hiring foreign workers through the H-1B visa programme. The list contains the names of four companies which have been labelled by the Department as “willful violators” of H-1B rules. The listed companies are: GowraTech, LLC, Renotek Group LLC, Seeloz, Inc., and Sherwood at Mount Dora, Inc. (doing business as Sherwood Academy).
The updated list, maintained by the Department of Labour’s Wage and Hour Division, is effective from July 1, 2026. The employers placed on the list are now prohibited from filing H-1B petitions. The bar on the listed companies has been imposed for a fixed period.
The debarment periods for all four companies are as follows:
Sherwood at Mount Dora, Inc. doing business as Sherwood Academy – May 26, 2026 to May 25, 2028.
GowraTech, LLC – May 12, 2025 to May 11, 2027.
Renotek Group LLC – August 8, 2025 to August 7, 2027.
Seeloz, Inc. – March 4, 2026 to March 3, 2028.
What does “willful violator” mean?
An employer is reportedly classified as a “willful violator” or “willful violator employer” when the authorities find that it failed to comply with H-1B visa regulations and made any material misrepresentations. A finding relating to a violation under the H-1B rules is entered either a Department of Labour proceeding under Section 212(n)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. § 1182(n)(2)(C)) or a Department of Justice proceeding under Section 212(n)(5) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(n)(5)).
The agency concerned is then required to determine whether the employer committed a willful violation to comply with H-1B requirements or made a misrepresentation of a material fact concerning two of the Labour Condition Application (LCA) attestations. Besides, the findings of the concerned agency must have been entered on or after October 21, 1998.
The rules require a willful violator employer to comply with additional attestations under any Labour Condition Application (LCA) to be filed within five years of the willful violation finding. The only exception is when an LCA is filed and used exclusively for exempt H-1B workers. Employers designated as willful violators are also subject to random investigations by the Department of Labour for up to five years from the date they are determined to be willful violators.
Both willful violators and H-1B dependent employers filing an LCA must meet additional requirements, including a certification that they have not displaced a US worker at the time of filing an H-1B visa petition. Moreover, before they place an H-1B worker at a secondary employer’s worksite, an inquiry must be made by the employer as to whether the secondary employer intends to displace a US worker. Additionally, the employer must take good-faith steps to recruit US workers and offer the position to any equally or better-qualified US worker who applies for the job.
