A group of Republican lawmakers has introduced a bill in the US Congress seeking a three-year pause on the H-1B visa programme, arguing that the system has harmed American workers and needs sweeping reforms.
Congressman Eli Crane of Arizona introduced the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026, with support from seven other Republican lawmakers. Original co-sponsors include Congressmen Brian Babin, Brandon Gill, Wesley Hunt, Keith Self (all from Texas), Andy Ogles (Tennessee), Paul Gosar (Arizona) and Tom McClintock (California).
The proposed legislation seeks to cut the annual H-1B visa cap from 65,000 to 25,000, set a minimum salary requirement of USD 2,00,000 per year, and bar visa holders from bringing dependents to the United States.
It also calls for replacing the lottery-based selection process with a wage-based system, requiring employers to certify they cannot find qualified American workers and have not carried out layoffs, banning H-1B workers from holding multiple jobs, and prohibiting third-party staffing agencies from employing them.
In addition, the bill proposes banning federal agencies from sponsoring or employing nonimmigrant workers, ending Optional Practical Training (OPT), and preventing H-1B visa holders from adjusting their status to permanent residency. It would also require nonimmigrants to leave the United States before switching to another nonimmigrant status.
The H-1B visa programme is widely used by US technology firms to hire foreign professionals. Indian workers, including those in technology and healthcare, make up one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders.
“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.
