The debate over H-1B visas has taken center stage across the nation, with many developments pointing to the program’s devastating effects on American workers. The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it will begin its first major H-1B fraud investigation.
The Labor Department has already issued dozens of subpoenas. Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito told Fox Business that H-1B visa fraud is tied to human trafficking, cartels, and transnational gangs. D’Esposito also stated that the administration’s goal is to ensure that hardworking Americans do not lose their jobs to foreigners or people gaming the system for their financial benefit. The investigation has only just begun, but we hope that the administration will hold the fraudsters and criminals who abuse the program accountable.
This focus on visa fraud comes as national outrage grows over jobs lost to H-1Bs, particularly amid Microsoft’s purge of thousands of workers. Microsoft-owned Xbox announced its largest layoff in company history, totaling about 4,800 people. Newly-appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who is behind the “restructuring”, blamed the layoffs on business failures, despite the fact that Xbox and Microsoft continue to apply for thousands of H-1B visas. In fact, Microsoft remains one of the top H-1B employers nationwide.
The message to financially struggling Americans is clear: foreign visa workers get priority. When layoffs come around, Americans get fired, and H-1Bs get hired in greater numbers. And it is not just Microsoft that has this issue. H-1B visa renewals are at an all-time high this year, totaling around 290,000 renewals.
This shocking number should not be confused with the H-1B visa cap: a maximum of 85,000 new H-1Bs are allowed by law per year. This cap, unfortunately, does not pertain to renewals or extensions of H-1Bs from previous years. In practice, this means that each year American corporations can import up to 85,000 new H-1B visa workers on top of all the ones already in the country. The worst part is that there is no limit to H-1B renewals. Thus, if renewals remain unopposed, the total number of H-1Bs will continue to increase indefinitely.
The good news is that the country is waking up to the magnitude of the problem, and there is a high demand for solutions. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) called for restraints on the H-1B program, criticizing the corporate practice of replacing US employees with foreign labor. Roy pushed his bill, the American White Collar Worker Jobs Act. The bill would end the OPT program, shorten the H-1B duration from six years to two years, ban companies that have recently laid off American employees from applying for H-1Bs, and end the pathway from H-1Bs to green cards.
The H-1B visa and other foreign labor pathways are systematically destroying Americans’ lives en masse. Thousands upon thousands of Americans who would otherwise be fine are waking up to find themselves laid off and with little hope of finding another job.
Texans for Strong Borders has prioritized fighting to put American workers first. We are pushing for the Texas Legislature to block the government from using any taxpayer money to fund corporations that hire H-1Bs. And we have recently unveiled a powerful tool for grassroots activists and legislators alike to analyze the H-1B crisis. Our H-1B tracker map uses official USCIS data to show how many H-1Bs are present in Texas, and which companies are utilizing them. Visit the H-1B tracker today to see how H-1Bs are destroying opportunities in your community!