A bill that would pause the issuance of H-1B visas for three years to reform the program for when it resumes has been introduced by Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) and co-sponsored by a half dozen other House Republicans.
The proposal, introduced Wednesday, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to bring the H1-B program back from hiatus with a series of dramatic changes in an aim to better protect American workers — and would rotate the current crop of visaholders out of the U.S. during the pause.
The cap on visas issued would be reduced from 65,000 to 25,000, the existing exemptions to the cap would be eliminated, and the allowance of two three-year visa terms would be reduced to just one. Applicants would be required to have a foreign residence to which they intend to return when their terms are up, instead of continuing to live in the U.S.
Employers would also be faced with stricter guidelines, with companies seeking to import H-1B visaholders being required to attest that they are unable to find a qualified American worker for that position, that bringing in a foreigner would not adversely affect American workers, and that they have not laid off workers in the previous year and will not lay any off in the following year. Employers would also have to pay the H-1B at least $200,000 per year.
If the bill passes, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would be required to distribute H-1B visas according to the highest wages offered as opposed to a lottery system.
H-1B workers would also be barred from being employed by more than one company at a time. Third-party employers, or staffing agencies, would be barred from employing them.
President Donald Trump’s September 2025 proclamation directing agencies to begin charging a $100,000 fee for the arrival of each foreigner hired via the H-1B program would also be codified with Crane’s act if it passes.
In addition, visa holders including H-1Bs, H-2A agricultural workers, and H-2B seasonal workers would be banned from bringing their relatives to the U.S. with them, and the federal government would no longer be able to sponsor or employ nonimmigrant workers.
Once in the U.S., nonimmigrant workers would be prohibited from changing their immigration status to another without leaving the country first, preventing H-1B workers from cheating the system by switching to student or tourist visas.
The bill’s cosponsors include Reps. Brian Babin (R-TX), Brandon Gill (R-TX), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Keith Self (R-TX), and Andy Ogles (R-TN).
Over in the Senate, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) recently voiced support for a temporary pause on the H-1B program.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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