US Congress' alleged H-1B plans cause panic; ‘Am I reading this right?’
President Donald Trump already announced that new H-1B recipients could not enter the US unless their employer paid $100,000.
An alleged draft proposal to eliminate H-1B visas has been shared online, sparking a flurry of reactions. A screenshot of the alleged draft was also shared by Gabe Guidarini, a member of the Ohio Turning Point chapter.
“Finally seeing the proposal I referenced last month and which @OldRowSwig shared part of last night,” he wrote on X, referencing the post which the Old Row apparel brand founder made about this alleged document.
“The fact that an effort for nuking H-1B, OPT, L-1 etc is being shared with college groups is huge. Get ready, GOP leadership,” Guidarini added.
The Old Row founder, when sharing the alleged document, had said “Am I reading this right??? Is the GOP actually going to end H-1B and go beyond???”. Another person sharing the alleged document wrote “Congress is going to abolish H-1Bs.”
HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of this document.
What the alleged document says
Speaking of H-1B and other visas, the alleged document says “Only statutory reform can close every back door at once and stop the endless game of category-shifting and policy arbitrage. This Act delivers that closure. It addresses all major visa classes in one strike H-1B, H-4, L-1, F-1 and OPT, J-1, O-1, and the now-defunct U and T loopholes-so employers cannot migrate exploitation from one program to another.”
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“If this becomes a bill, it ends discretionary work permits, ends adjustment-of-status abuse, and bans third-party employment schemes across the system. It replaces piecemeal rulemaking with a single enforcement architecture that finally aligns temporary visas with the national interest,” the alleged document adds.
Grok, when asked about the alleged document by X users, said “The draft, circulating in GOP circles and highlighted on forums like TeamBlind, proposes fully eliminating the H-1B visa program to halt foreign hiring in specialty occupations like tech, citing widespread abuse and American worker displacement. It extends to ending OPT, which permits international students temporary U.S. work post-graduation, and potentially other temporary visas to prioritize domestic talent.”
Alleged document sparks reactions
There were many who were in favor of a possible abolishment of H-1Bs by the Congress. “Young Americans are being devastated by H-1B. Ending it completely, with no exceptions, no carve outs, is the only sensible option,” one person wrote on X.
Another added, “This needs to happen immediately. This is what Charlie Kirk fought for. We need to make sure that his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.” Yet another said, “I will do everything I can do to explain the value of this. This can bring back jobs and transform Americans quality of life.”
However, there were some who cautioned that such a document would not pass. Daniel Di Martino, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, stated on X: “No they won't. Any immigration change requires 60 votes in the senate and this doesn't even have 40. And it would also be the stupidest immigration policy change in history, one where many are clearly motivated by something they have against Indians.”
Another X profile said, “Everybody needs to understand that there are dozens of draft legislations that never make it out of committee. They ask for these all the time in order to see what would this look like or what would that look like and for every 30 of these maybe one actually makes it into an out of committee. Remember I am the optimist.”
There are no concrete plans for the Congress to abolish the H-1B system as the alleged document is just a draft, and it would need to be passed for the alleged Act to become law. Any changes to the program, if made, will impact Indians, who make up for over 70 percent of H-1B holders at present.
Notably, the news of the alleged document comes at a time when the Donald Trump administration is cracking down on illegal immigration. Trump also acted against the H-1B system, noting that it had been abused. As per the President new recipients cannot enter the US unless their employers pay $100,000 to the government. The Trump administration is now being sued by the US Chamber of Commerce over this move, with the latter arguing it violates the immigration laws that govern the H-1B program.
