A group of Republican lawmakers in the US Congress has introduced a bill seeking a three-year pause on the H-1B visa programme, arguing it is being used to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign labour, PTI reported.
The proposed “End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026”, introduced by Eli Crane, calls for a temporary halt to the programme and major changes to how visas are issued. It suggests cutting the annual cap from 65,000 to 25,000, setting a minimum salary of $200,000, and preventing visa holders from bringing dependants.
The bill has been backed by several Republican lawmakers, including Brian Babin, Brandon Gill, Wesley Hunt, Keith Self, Andy Ogles, Paul Gosar and Tom McClintock. The H-1B visa programme is widely used by US companies to hire foreign workers, with Indian professionals forming a large share of recipients.
The bill proposes replacing the lottery system with a wage-based selection process and requires employers to confirm they cannot find qualified American workers. It also seeks to bar third-party staffing firms from hiring H-1B workers, prevent visa holders from taking multiple jobs, and stop them from moving to permanent residency.
Lawmakers said the changes are aimed at protecting domestic jobs. “The federal government should work for hardworking citizens, not the profit margins of massive corporations,” Crane said, according to PTI.
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Co-sponsor Paul Gosar said the programme has been “hijacked to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labour”, adding that the bill would “put American jobs first again”.
Another co-sponsor, Andy Ogles, said: “We will not let Americans become strangers in th
