Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) is set to introduce a new bill that, if passed into law, would slap a suspension on new H-1B visas for three years before resuming the program with a yearly cap of 25,000 on cap-subject visas, a $200,000 wage floor, and other restrictions that are designed to protect American workers while also addressing fraud and various national security concerns.
The new legislation would also make changes that go far beyond the H-1B program. It would trash employment authorization for certain foreign students and exchange visitors, preventing non-immigrants who have temporary status in the U.S. from adjusting that to permanent-resident status while they are still residing in the country, stopping federal agencies from hiring non-immigrants directly or through contracts, and finally prohibiting changes from one non-immigrant classification to another.
“The H-1B program was created to address workforce shortages for specialized, difficult-to-fill positions — not to displace qualified, hardworking Americans with cheaper, foreign labor,” Sheehy said in an interview with Breitbart News. “We shouldn’t be issuing work permits that make it easier to undercut American workers when we have the talent right here at home.”
Sheehy then explained that the bill he’s introducing would restore the H-1B program to its original intent. “My legislation, the End H-1B Abuse Act, restores the program to its original intent and puts American workers first by closing loopholes that incentivize abuse, strengthening guardrails and prioritizing our national security interests,” he added.
According to the report, the legislation places a three-year suspension on H-1B visas. After those three years are up, there is an annual cap of 25,000 that can be awarded. The random selection process would be replaced by a system that places top priority on petitions that offer the highest wages. The current duration of an H-1B visa is six years. Sheehy’s bill reduces that to three, along with requiring employers to vouch that qualified American workers are not available for the position.
Employers would also be required to verify that hiring the visa holder would not have an adverse effect on wages or working conditions shared by U.S. workers and that the employer had not laid off workers during the 12 months prior to the submission of the application and would not do so during the 12 months after the application.
The legislation also requires employers to offer H-1B workers a minimum of $200,000 a year and pay a $100,000 fee for petitions seeking initial H-1B status or authorization for said worker to switch employers. The bill is currently being supported by the Immigration Accountability Project and the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
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Vice President JD Vance recently announced that the Department of Labor has now sent out dozens of subpoenas and has launched a number of investigations into alleged H-1B fraud. The agency’s Office of Inspector General also revealed it was intensifying enforcement concerning the electronic review management systems that are involved with the program, citing fraudulent applications, coercive wage-kickback arrangements, worker exploitation, and schemes to undercut U.S. workers with below-wage labor.