Trump’s DOJ Takes Control of OpenAI’s Green Card Sponsorship Programs

On Wednesday, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division revealed that OpenAI and its former subsidiary Statsig have reached a settlement that imposes three years of oversight on the AI lab’s hiring practices.

The DOJ accused these companies of employing various strategies to hinder U.S. citizens from applying for positions held by immigrant workers, for whom the companies were sponsoring permanent U.S. residency. Although the companies did not admit to any wrongdoing, they agreed to pay a total of $3.2 million, which includes a $1.2 million fine, while the remaining $2 million is earmarked for restitution to U.S. citizens who may have been adversely affected, pending the DOJ’s findings.

The DOJ asserted that OpenAI and Statsig violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by failing to adequately seek qualified U.S. citizens for these roles before pursuing permanent residency applications (PERM) as required by the INA. The DOJ noted that they did not post job openings on public boards, advertised on late-night radio, and required paper applications instead of electronic submissions.

Although fewer than 10 roles were involved, the DOJ stated that as a condition of the settlement, the companies are to pay the fine and are subject to department oversight regarding their PERM hiring practices. This oversight entails preparing and securing approval for their hiring policies specific to PERM roles, as well as submitting semiannual reports detailing the number of applications for foreign employees they sought, how many U.S. citizens they interviewed, and additional statistics.

OpenAI acquired Statsig, an AI A/B testing firm, in September 2025 and subsequently divested part of the business in May 2026. However, the DOJ indicates that its investigation of both companies commenced separately prior to the acquisition, starting in August 2025, which included five cases against OpenAI from 2023 to 2025 and one against Statsig.

According to the DOJ, this settlement is part of a broader initiative to intensify scrutiny of companies on this issue. Nonetheless, the INA, enacted in 1952, has been enforced against other Big Tech firms by previous administrations as well. Under Biden’s administration, for example, both Facebook and Apple entered into similar settlements, although in those instances the DOJ claimed the violations were widespread and systemic.