Overview
- Rep. Chip Roy formally filed the American White‑Collar Worker Jobs Act on June 4, proposing a statutory rewrite of how the United States admits high‑skilled temporary workers.
- Key provisions would replace the H‑1B lottery with a wage‑ or merit‑based selection, end 'dual intent' by requiring a foreign residence, shorten H‑1B stays to two years, and abolish Optional Practical Training for international students.
- The bill would force employers to show they tried to hire U.S. workers, set higher wage floors tied to the 75th percentile for an occupation, cap non‑immigrant hires at about 5% of a company’s U.S. workforce, and bar certain layoffs around petition filings.
- Advocacy groups representing tech‑worker and immigration‑restriction views have backed the proposal while immigration experts and news outlets warn the measure faces steep partisan hurdles and is unlikely to pass in its current form.
- The proposal builds on recent Trump administration actions that tightened H‑1B rules, including a weighted selection, higher fees, social‑media checks, and a large drop in properly submitted registrations, and it could have wide economic and diplomatic effects for large beneficiary countries such as India.