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H-1B visas, widely used by Indian professionals to work in the US, have faced tighter curbs under the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown
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A US lawmaker has introduced a bill to end the H-1B visa program, saying corporations have repeatedly abused this system and imported cheaper foreign labour into America.
Key Points
- US Representative Greg Steube, a Republican from Florida, introduced the ‘Ending Exploitative Imported Labour Exemptions Act or EXILE Act’, a bill that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act by ending the H-1B visa programme
- Trump last year signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, a move that caused widespread panic, confusion and concern among Indian professionals.
- The visa programme has prevented more than 10,000 US physicians from accessing residency programs by facilitating the arrival of more than 5,000 foreign-born doctors
US Representative Greg Steube, a Republican from Florida, introduced the ‘Ending Exploitative Imported Labour Exemptions Act or EXILE Act’, a bill that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act by ending the H-1B visa programme.
“Prioritising foreign labour over the well-being and prosperity of American citizens undermines our values and national interests,” Steube said in a statement.
“Our workers and young people continue to be displaced and disenfranchised by the H-1B visa program that awards corporations and foreign competitors at the expense of our workforce. We cannot preserve the American dream for our children while forfeiting their share to non-citizens. That is why I am introducing the EXILE Act to put working Americans first again,” he said.
H-1B visas are used by a large number of Indian professionals to live and work in the US. The Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on immigration, both legal and illegal, imposing new and stringent restrictions on visas such as H-1B.
Describing abuse of the H-1B program as a national security threat, Trump last year signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, a move that caused widespread panic, confusion and concern among Indian professionals.
The statement said that more than 80 percent of recipients of H-1B visas are Indian or Chinese nationals, with priority given to younger workers.
Listing examples of how H-1Bs have “disadvantaged” American workers, it said the visa programme has prevented more than 10,000 US physicians from accessing residency programs by facilitating the arrival of more than 5,000 foreign-born doctors.
It further said that more than 16,000 Microsoft employees were displaced following the approval of more than 9,000 H-1B visas in 2025. It added that FedEx’s utilisation of the H-1B resulted in the shuttering of more than 100 facilities across the United States.
Disney laid off 250 employees in 2015, only to replace them with foreign workers brought in via the H-1B visa.
In 2014, Southern California Edison fired 540 workers. Their replacements were brought in from two Indian outsourcing firms that utilised the H-1B visa programme.
From December 15 last year, the State Department has also begun an enhanced screening and vetting of H-1B and its dependent H-4 visas, checking the social media profiles of the applicants.
As a result of this guideline, several H1B visa interviews scheduled across India have been postponed and pushed months ahead, leaving many visa holders who had travelled to India for their visa stamping stranded.
