Bill to end H-1B visa programme soon, says Republican Congresswoman

Days after Donald Trump defended the H-1B visa programme, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said she was introducing a bill to end “the mass replacement of American workers by aggressively phasing out the H1B programme”. Actions against the H-1B programme bode ill for Indian professionals, who are the biggest beneficiary of the temporary work visa. The H-1B is also used as a pathway to American citizenship, through the Green Card route.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the GOP leader, accused US firms of abusing the programme to undermine the benefits for American workers.

“Big Tech, AI giants, hospitals, and industries across the board have abused the H-1B system to cut out our own people,” she said in a post on X on Thursday (US time).

“Americans are the most talented people in the world, and I have full faith in the American people. I serve Americans only, and I will ALWAYS put Americans first,” she added.

She said the bill proposes ending the H-1B programme and prioritising American workers in sectors such as technology, healthcare, engineering, and manufacturing.

“My bill ELIMINATES the corrupt H-1B program and puts AMERICANS FIRST again in tech, healthcare, engineering, manufacturing, and every industry that keeps this country running!! If we want the next generation to have the American Dream, we must stop replacing them and start investing in them,” she said in the post.

“Greene’s bill offers one “exemption” for 10,000 visas to be issued per year for medical professionals like doctors and nurses, Greene said. That exemption will be phased out after 10 years, she added.

Greene noted, however, that even the 10,000-per-year cap would be phased out over a decade to provide time to develop a domestic pipeline of American doctors and physicians.

The programme is used by US firms, especially in tech, to import talent, more than 70% of whom are Indian.

DONALD TRUMP’S RARE SHOW OF SUPPORT FOR H-1B VISAS

The development follows Trump’s statement in which he defended the need for the H-1B program during a Fox News interview, stating in part that the US does not possess adequate domestic talent for certain positions in tech and defence.

During the interview, Trump was asked whether his administration would prioritise the H-1B visa programme over fears that it could suppress wages for American workers.

“I agree, but you do also have to bring in talent,” he replied.

When the interviewer interjected and said, “We have plenty of talented workers,” the President quickly shot back, “No, you don’t.”

“You don’t have certain talents. People have to learn. You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory where we’re going to make missiles’,” he added.

The bill, if introduced, will add to ongoing congressional and public debates regarding the future of the H-1B program and broader immigration reform efforts, Newsweek reported.

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