Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has expanded his investigation into alleged H-1B visa fraud, issuing demands to nearly 30 North Texas businesses.
Paxton’s office announced on April 30 that it has sent Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to a growing list of companies suspected of abusing the federal H-1B visa program, including Tekpro IT LLC, Fame PBX LLC, 1st Ranking Technologies LLC, Qubitz Tech Systems LLC, and others. The requests compel the businesses to turn over internal records as part of the state’s probe.
According to the press release, the companies are suspected of engaging in fraudulent practices, such as operating “ghost offices,” in which businesses allegedly misrepresent having legitimate operations to sponsor foreign workers.
“I will not allow the H-1B program to be abused by bad actors seeking to use it as a loophole for allowing foreign nationals to invade Texas,” Paxton said. “My office will continue working to uncover and put an end to fraud within the H-1B program.”
The attorney general’s office said it is seeking detailed documentation, including employee rosters, financial records, descriptions of services, and internal communications tied to business operations.
Having a small office presence is not ipso facto proof of a federal or state crime or civil offense. Remote work is permissible for H-1B workers. However, employers are supposed to include the employee’s home address as a worksite in their labor condition application if an alien worker may work from home, according to the immigration law firm Greenberg Traurig’s website.
In other words, alleged irregularities in reported worksite locations are not necessarily proof that a job is fake or that fraud has been committed, though they could be.
1st Ranking Technologies LLC had 27 H-1B visa petitions approved, while Qubitz Tech Systems LLC had 29, between Fiscal Year 2020 and 2026, according to the USCIS H-1B data hub.
There are two entries for Texas employers named Tekpro Inc in the federal database during this period; combined, they received 115 H-1B approvals.
The USCIS data hub shows no results for Fame PBX LLC in any time period in the last 15 fiscal years.
The Dallas Express contacted each company for comment before publication; however, the email address listed for Tekpro was not functioning.
The latest action builds on a broader, ongoing state-level effort to scrutinize employers participating in the visa program, though authority over the H-1B system ultimately resides with the federal government.
The visa program is administered primarily by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with support from the Department of Labor and the Department of State, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
That federal structure limits the direct role states can play in approving or denying visas, but it does not prevent state investigations into alleged fraud or related business practices.
The new enforcement push follows prior allegations of large-scale immigration fraud in North Texas. A visa consulting operation in the Dallas area was accused by federal prosecutors of running a scheme for more than seven years that involved submitting fraudulent H-1B and employment-based green card applications, according to court records previously reported by The Dallas Express.
In that case, defendants Abdul Hadi Murshid and Muhammad Salman Nasir were charged with conspiracy, visa fraud, and money laundering. Prosecutors alleged the operation submitted false information in immigration filings to help foreign nationals obtain legal status in the United States. At the time of that report, Murshid had pleaded not guilty.
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in mostly white-collar occupations, typically requiring at least a bachelor’s degree. The program is capped annually for the private sector and often serves as a pathway to longer-term residency.
Across the U.S., USCIS figures reveal that roughly 72% of H-1B visas are granted to workers from India and about 12% to workers from China.
State officials in Texas have increasingly taken steps to address perceived abuses, including investigations and policy directives affecting public-sector hiring. However, decisions about visa approvals and eligibility remain largely under federal jurisdiction.
Paxton’s office did not indicate when the current investigation would conclude or whether enforcement actions, such as lawsuits or referrals for criminal prosecution, would follow.
The announcement signals a continuation of Texas’ efforts to use state-level tools to address concerns about foreign labor programs, even as the broader immigration framework remains governed in Washington.
