Bill for 3-year pause on H-1B visas introduced in US Congress

WASHINGTON: A group of Republican lawmakers has introduced a bill in the US Congress for a three-year pause to the H1-B visa programme, contending that it has been hijacked to replace American workers with cheap foreign labour.

Congressman Eli Crane from Arizona introduced the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026, which was co-sponsored by seven other Republican lawmakers.

The bill proposes reforms to the H-1B programme that include reducing the annual cap from 65,000 to 25,000 with a minimum wage of USD 2,00,000 per year and disallowing H-1B visa holders from bringing dependents to the US.

Congressmen Brian Babin, Brandon Gill, Wesley Hunt, Keith Self (all from Texas), Andy Ogles (Tennessee), Paul Gosar (Arizona) and Tom McClintock (California) have signed on as original cosponsors of the bill.

The H-1B visa programme is used extensively by American technology companies to employ foreign workers. Indian professionals, including technology workers and physicians, form one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders.

The bill seeks changes to the H-1B programme that include replacing the lottery system with a wage-based selection system; requiring employers to certify they cannot find a qualified American worker and have not conducted layoffs; barring H-1B workers from holding multiple jobs; and prohibiting third-party staffing agencies from employing them.

The bill also seeks to prohibit federal agencies from sponsoring or employing nonimmigrant workers; end Optional Practical Training (OPT); and ensure nonimmigrant visas remain temporary by prohibiting H-1B holders from adjusting status to permanent residency.

The changes suggested also require nonimmigrants to depart the United States before changing to another nonimmigrant status.

“The federal government should work for hardworking citizens, not the profit margins of massive corporations. We owe it to the American people to prevent the broken H-1B system from boxing them out of jobs they are qualified to perform,” Crane said.

He said the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026 would provide greater access to employment, strengthen protocols in the visa process, and prioritise the livelihoods of Americans.

“I am proud to cosponsor Rep Eli Crane’s efforts to reform and tighten our H-1B visa system, ensuring that our immigration system serves American workers first before foreigners,” said Rep Brandon Gill.

Rep Paul Gosar alleged that the H-1B programme has been "hijacked to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labour — plain and simple".

The bill, he said, slams the brakes on a system that’s rigged against its own people and puts American jobs first again.

"If a company can hire an American, they should. No loopholes. No excuses. We’re done subsidising the outsourcing of our own workforce,” Gosar said.

Rep Andy Ogles said American workers are being replaced, and cheap foreign labour is the cause.

"We will not bow down to the corporations, and we will not let Americans become strangers in their own country. End the H-1B scam,” he said.

“This is the strongest H-1B bill that has ever been introduced in Congress. H-1B visas were sold to the American people as a short-term visa to fill temporary labour gaps, while Americans are trained to take those jobs,” said Rosemary Jenks, Cofounder, Immigration Accountability Project.