The Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) will safeguard the integrity of the nation’s lawful immigration system by leading agency efforts to combat fraud, detect national security and public safety threats, and maximize law enforcement and Intelligence Community partnerships.

FDNS plays a key role in USCIS’ efforts to safeguard the integrity of our immigration laws, protect American workers, and safeguard the homeland. FDNS officers are located in USCIS service centers, asylum offices, and domestic and international field offices. Some FDNS immigration officers are embedded in other government agencies.

FDNS employs numerous measures to detect and deter immigration benefit fraud and aggressively pursues benefit fraud cases in collaboration with USCIS adjudication officers and federal law enforcement agencies. Since 2004, FDNS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have collaborated in a strategic partnership to combat immigration fraud.

FDNS officers work closely with law enforcement and intelligence community partners to resolve potential fraud, national security, and public safety concerns, and to ensure the mutual exchange of current and comprehensive information. They are responsible for conducting administrative investigations into suspected benefit fraud and aiding in the resolution of national security or criminal concerns. Administrative investigations may include compliance reviews, interviews, site visits, requests for evidence, and may also result in a referral to ICE for consideration of a criminal investigation. 

In April 2017, FDNS created and implemented the Targeted Site Visit and Verification Program (TSVVP) as part of its continuous efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration benefit process.  TSVVP allows USCIS to focus resources where fraud and abuse of employment and family based visa types is more likely to occur.

In July 2009, USCIS created and implemented the Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program (ASVVP) as part of its efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration benefit process. Under ASVVP, FDNS immigration officers conduct unannounced pre- and post-adjudication site visits to verify information contained in certain visa petitions as part of a Compliance Review (CR). The verification process is designed to assess whether petitioners and beneficiaries are complying with applicable immigration laws and regulations.

Protecting the integrity of the immigration process is a priority for USCIS, so FDNS makes it easy for you to report immigration fraud and abuse. Visit our Report Fraud page for information on how to report fraud related to immigration benefits, such as marriage or asylum fraud, as well as employment-based visa violations

USCIS created FDNS in 2004 in order to strengthen USCIS’ efforts to ensure immigration benefits are not granted to individuals who pose a threat to national security or public safety, or who seek to defraud our immigration system. In 2010, FDNS became a Directorate, which elevated the profile of this work within USCIS, brought about operational improvements, and enhanced the integration of the FDNS mission in all facets of the agency’s work. Today FDNS continues to lead the USCIS effort to ensure the integrity of the nation’s immigration benefits processes.