Bill for 3-Year Pause on H-1B Visas Introduced in US Congress
Washington: A group of Republican lawmakers have submitted a bill to the US Congress to pause the H1-B visa program for three years, arguing that the H1-B visa program is being hijacked to replace American workers with cheap foreign labor. Congressman Eli Crane of Arizona introduced the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026, co-sponsored by seven other Republican lawmakers.
The bill proposes reforms in the H-1B program that include reducing the annual cap from 65,000 to 25,000, with an annual minimum wage of $2,00,000, and not allowing H-1B visa holders to bring their dependents to the US.
Congressmen Brian Babin, Brandon Gill, Wesley Hunt, Keith Self (all from Texas), Andy Ogles (Tennessee), Paul Gosar (Arizona), and Tom McClintock (California) signed on as original co-sponsors of the bill.
The H-1B visa program is widely used by American technology companies to employ foreign workers. Indian professionals, including tech workers and doctors, constitute one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders.
The bill calls for changes to the H-1B program that include replacing the lottery system with a fee-based selection system; Requiring employers to document that they are unable to find qualified American workers and that they are not laying off workers; Prohibiting H-1B workers from working more than one job; and banning third-party staffing agencies from employing them.
The bill also seeks to prohibit federal agencies from sponsoring or employing nonimmigrant workers; End Optional Practical Training (OPT); and ensure that nonimmigrant visas remain temporary by prohibiting H-1B holders from changing their status to permanent residence.
The proposed changes also require nonimmigrants to leave the United States before changing to another nonimmigrant status.
“The federal government should work for hard-working citizens, not for the profit margins of big corporations. We owe it to the American people to prevent the broken H-1B system from depriving them of the jobs they are qualified to perform,” Crane said.
He said the H-1B Visa Abuse Ending Act of 2026 would provide greater access to employment, strengthen protocols in the visa process and prioritize Americans’ livelihoods.
“I am proud to sponsor Rep. Eli Crane’s efforts to reform and tighten our H-1B visa system, ensuring our immigration system serves American workers before foreigners,” said Representative Brandon Gill.
Representative Paul Gosar claimed that the H-1B program was “hijacked – plain and simple – to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor.”
He said the bill slams the brakes on a system that is rigged against its own people and puts Americans’ jobs back first.
“If a company can hire an American, they should do it. There is no loophole. There is no excuse. We have stopped subsidizing the outsourcing of our own workforce,” Gosar said.
Rep. Andy Ogles said American workers are being replaced and the reason for this is cheap foreign labor.
“We will not bow to corporations, we will not allow Americans to become alienated in their own country. End the H-1B fraud,” he said.
“This is the strongest H-1B bill ever introduced in Congress. H-1B visas are sold to the American public as a short-term visa to fill temporary workforce gaps while Americans are trained to get these jobs,” said Rosemary Jenks, Co-Founder of the Immigration Accountability Project.
