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US to impose total ban on H-1B Visa programme? All on Republicans new proposal
The H-1B visa program allowing US firms to hire foreign workers faces backlash from US lawmakers, with a Republican congresswoman seeking a total ban on it.
The H-1B visa program, which permits US companies to employ foreign workers, is facing criticism from both the American labor force and legislators. A Republican congresswoman has advocated for a complete prohibition of the H-1B temporary visa program, according to Newsweek.
“That H-1B visa program has got to either stop right now until we understand the amount of just how it’s being taken advantage of, or redone so it doesn’t exist. It cannot continue in the way it has,” stated Texas Representative Beth Van Duyne during an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, as per Newsweek.
Van Duyne stressed that the gradual removal of H-1B visas is part of a bigger strategy to “go after the immigration system,” which would also include the repeal of the 1965 Hart-Celler Act, a federal law that prioritized skills-based immigration and family reunification while eliminating national-origin quotas that favored European immigrants.
H-1B visa program: Here's what new survey says
Under the H-1B visa program, US firms can employ highly educated foreign workers for jobs in “specialty occupations” that require a bachelor's degree or its equivalent.
According to a new survey by Blind, an anonymous community app for certified professionals, 56% of Americans think H-1B visa holders are displacing American workers, intensifying discussions about the contribution of foreign labor to the American economy.
Republican politicians oppose H-1B visa program
Moreover, a number of Republican politicians have stated that they oppose the H-1B visa program for foreign workers.
Representative Chip Roy has introduced the Pausing All Admissions Until Security Ensured (PAUSE) Act in a bid to modify the H-1B program and get fully rid with the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene announced in November that she will be introducing legislation to “End the mass replacement of American workers by aggressively phasing out the H1B program.”
Following large layoffs of American workers, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin are probing large firms for filing thousands of H-1B skilled labor visa applications. Grassley and Durbin expressed their worries in letters to ten well-known American employers.
Grassley and Durbin were asking firms to provide details about their hiring procedures, especially with regard to pay and benefits disparities between American employees and those with H-1B visas.
“The H-1B program has been grossly abused to undercut the American worker and replace domestic talent with foreign workers. House Appropriations passed my amendment pushing back on the false STEM workforce shortage claims used to import foreign workers,” Congressman Riley M. Moore stated.
“The amendment directs the U.S. Department of Labor to examine the H-1B and Schedule A list and provide a report on how these programs harm the American worker.”
Republican Senator Eric Schmitt from Missouri stated on X, the H-1B visa was marketed as a means to maintain America's competitiveness. However, it has resulted in the importation of millions of foreign nationals to displace American workers—and has shifted entire industries into “the lands of foreign lobbies, Schmitt added.
