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August 5, 2026 · TechCrunch Startups

DOJ gains oversight of OpenAI's green-card employee sponsorships

The U.S. Department of Justice will now oversee OpenAI's sponsorship of green cards for visa-holding employees. The DOJ alleged OpenAI did not make a meaningful attempt to hire U.S. citizens before seeking permanent residency for those workers.

Why it matters: This is a concrete regulatory intervention into how a leading AI lab staffs its workforce, not just rhetoric about AI and jobs. It signals the administration is willing to use immigration enforcement as a lever on AI companies specifically, which could affect how OpenAI and its peers recruit global technical talent going forward.

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