US Republicans Introduce Bill To Pause H-1B Visa Programme

A group of Republican lawmakers has introduced a bill in the US Congress for a three-year pause to the H1-B visa programme, contending that it has been hijacked to replace American workers with cheap foreign labour.

The End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026 was filed by Arizona Congressman Eli Crane and co-sponsored by seven other Republican lawmakers.

The bill suggests changes to the H-1B program, such as lowering the yearly ceiling from 65,000 to 25,000 with a minimum income of USD 2,00,000 annually and prohibiting holders of H-1B visas from bringing dependents to the United States.

The bill's original cosponsors are Congressmen Brian Babin, Brandon Gill, Wesley Hunt, and Keith Self from Texas, Andy Ogles from Tennessee, Paul Gosar from Arizona, and Tom McClintock from California.

American technology companies frequently use the H-1B visa program to hire overseas labour. One of the biggest groups of people with H-1B visas is Indian professionals, including doctors and technology workers.

The bill calls for changes to the H-1B program, such as replacing the lottery system with a wage-based selection system, requiring employers to attest that they are unable to find a qualified American worker and have not made layoffs, prohibiting H-1B workers from holding multiple jobs, and forbidding employment by third-party staffing agencies.

Additionally, the law aims to terminate Optional Practical Training (OPT), forbid federal agencies from sponsoring or hiring nonimmigrant workers, and guarantee that nonimmigrant visas stay temporary by preventing H-1B holders from changing their status to permanent residency.

Additionally, the proposed reforms mandate that nonimmigrants leave the country before obtaining a different nonimmigrant status.

“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.