Overview
- Vice President JD Vance said he would support abolishing the H-1B program during a Thursday interview, arguing employers use the visas to replace higher-paid American workers with cheaper foreign hires.
- Federal judges have twice enjoined the administration’s $100,000 charge on many new H-1B hires, with US District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. issuing a preliminary injunction that found agencies likely skipped required rulemaking steps.
- The White House has layered tools beyond the fee, including a September 18 executive order that directs State, Labor and DHS to check whether employers recently laid off or plan to lay off similarly situated U.S. workers when reviewing H-1B petitions.
- DHS separately proposed a roughly $103,265 regulatory fee in August that remains under review and legally vulnerable, and litigation is the main barrier to putting either charge or several new rules into full effect.
- If sustained, the administration’s changes could sharply cut cap-subject H-1B admissions — the program is limited to 85,000 new visas a year and regularly draws far more registrations — a shift that supporters say will protect U.S. workers while critics warn it could limit access to skilled talent in sectors such as technology and health care.