The political debate in the United States over the H-1B visa given to foreign skilled workers has intensified. A Republican lawmaker from Florida has introduced a new bill aimed at completely ending the H-1B visa program. He has alleged that this system has been misused for a long time and is being used to prefer cheap foreign labor over American citizens.
The lawmaker, Steube, has named this bill the EXILE Act (Ending Exploitative Imported Labour Exemptions Act). Under the proposed law, the Immigration and Nationality Act would be amended to eliminate the H-1B visa category. He says that giving priority to foreign labor goes against American values and national interest.
According to Steube, the H-1B visa policy has resulted in American youth and local workers being continuously deprived of opportunities. He said that unless American citizens are given priority, the “American Dream” cannot be protected for future generations.
The H-1B visa is used the most by Indian professionals, who work in the US in sectors such as IT, healthcare, and engineering. In recent years, US immigration policy has become stricter, especially during the Trump tenure. The Trump administration took tough steps on both legal and illegal immigration and linked visa programs like H-1B to national security.
According to official statements, more than 80 percent of H-1B visa recipients are Indian and Chinese citizens, with preference given to relatively younger workers. Critics claim that because of this, thousands of American doctors did not get seats in residency programs, while foreign doctors got opportunities.
Giving some examples, it has been said that after a large number of H-1B visas were approved at Microsoft, the jobs of thousands of American employees were affected. Similarly, companies like FedEx and Disney have also faced allegations of layoffs of local employees and hiring of foreign workers.
Meanwhile, the US State Department has further tightened the scrutiny process for H-1B and related H-4 visa applications since mid-December. After checks of social media profiles began, many visa interviews in India have been postponed. As a result, many people who came to India for visa stamping have been stuck for months.
With the introduction of the new bill, an atmosphere of uncertainty and concern has emerged among millions of foreign professionals dependent on the H-1B visa, especially Indians.
Utkarsh works as a Sub-Editor at 1Tak News. Technology and gadgets are his main beats, and he also tracks automobiles. A graduate of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, he began his journalism career in 2023 and has built experience across digital media platforms like 1Tak. Besides technology, he also has considerable experience covering national affairs, politics, research, and international news.
