Trump admin flags H-1B abuse, employers on notice for US worker layoffs; $100,000 visa fee renewed

According to a White House fact sheet, US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order and a Proclamation on Friday to strengthen programme integrity, improve interagency coordination, and address what the administration describes as abuses of the H-1B system.

The Executive Order directs the US Secretary of State, Secretary of Labour and Secretary of Homeland Security to consider an employer''s recent or planned layoffs of similarly situated US workers when reviewing H-1B visa applications.

The three departments have also been directed to consult with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Education, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to gather additional information to administer the H-1B programme, including data on wages, industrial conditions, and employment specialisation, the fact sheet said.

Separately, the Proclamation renews the USD 100,000 fee requirement for certain H-1B visa applications, which was first imposed on September 19, 2025. The White House said the measure is intended to curb practices that displace US workers and undermine national security.

The administration said the earlier proclamation had significantly reduced H-1B registrations by some of the largest IT outsourcing firms.

"Since the 2025 Proclamation took effect, H-1B registrations filed by the largest IT outsourcing firms have been reduced by 92%," the White House fact sheet said.

The White House also cited changes in consular processing and the composition of H-1B workers following the 2025 measure, stating that it had resulted in a nearly 97 per cent decrease in consular processing requests and a shift from lower-paid foreign labour towards higher-skilled and higher-wage workers.

Calling for further changes to the programme, the administration said, "More work must be done to improve interagency coordination in the assessment of H-1B visa petitions."

The fact sheet also argued that employers'' use of lower-paid foreign labour can put downward pressure on wages for skilled American workers.

"Abuse of the H-1B visa program decreases wages for skilled American workers because the availability of cheaper foreign labor places downward pressure on domestic pay," the White House said.

It further alleged that some employers had laid off highly qualified American workers before hiring H-1B workers.

"Many employers have laid off large numbers of highly qualified, highly skilled American workers, only to promptly hire large numbers of H-1B workers who are often lower-skilled and lower-paid," the fact sheet said.

The administration also pointed to the outsourcing model used by certain H-1B sponsors, arguing that some jobs held by H-1B workers eventually move outside the United States.

The White House cited employment figures to underscore its argument for greater protection of American workers. It said unemployment among recent computer science graduates had reached 6.1 per cent, while the rate for recent computer engineering graduates was 7.5 per cent before the 2025 proclamation, describing both figures as more than double the rates for biology or art history majors.

The fact sheet also said the number of foreign STEM workers in the United States more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, while overall STEM employment increased by 44.5 per cent during the same period. It further said the share of IT workers with H-1B visas had risen from 32 per cent in fiscal year 2003 to more than 65 per cent in recent years before the 2025 proclamation.

The administration also highlighted its December 2025 rule replacing the H-1B randomised lottery with a weighted system based on wage levels. According to the White House, fiscal year 2027 marks the first time H-1B selections have been determined by wage rather than chance, while registrations fell by almost 40 per cent.

The fact sheet placed the latest H-1B measures within the administration''s broader immigration and economic agenda.

"After years and years of failed policies that put foreigners above America’s own workers, President Trump has delivered on his promise to put American workers first and fix the immigration system," the White House said.

The administration also said Trump''s economic policies had added more than one million jobs to the US economy since his return to office, including nearly 100,000 factory construction jobs and 58,000 manufacturing jobs since January 2026.

The White House said the US manufacturing sector had expanded for eight consecutive months under Trump after what it described as "perpetual contraction" during the Biden administration.

The administration further pointed to tax and workforce measures enacted in July 2025, saying they delivered No Tax on Overtime and No Tax on Tips, safeguarded millions of American jobs and more than half a trillion dollars in wages, and established Workforce Pell Grants for Americans entering skilled trades.

According to the fact sheet, real wages increased by USD 822 in 2025, while real household income reached its highest level in history.

The Trump administration said it is also pursuing H-1B visa fraud investigations and examining other practices it says illegally favour visa holders over American workers.

The latest measures come as the White House seeks to increase scrutiny of the H-1B programme through tighter coordination among federal agencies, greater consideration of employer layoffs and continued use of higher fees for selected visa petitions. (ANI)