A bloc of eight Republican representatives led by Arizona congressman Eli Crane on April 27 introduced the ‘End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026,’ the most sweeping attempt in two decades to overhaul America’s main skilled-worker visa. The 71-page bill would: • Suspend issuance of new H-1B visas for three fiscal years while the programme is “reset.” • Cut the permanent annual cap from 65,000 to 25,000 and abolish the lottery, replacing it with a first-come, first-served queue that prioritises the highest prevailing-wage level. • Set a mandatory minimum salary of US$200,000 (or the Level 4 Department of Labor wage, whichever is higher) and bar third-party placement. • Prohibit dependents from accompanying visa holders, end the STEM OPT work-study option, and ban direct adjustment of status from H-1B to permanent residence. Supporters argue the system has been “hijacked to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labour.” Business groups immediately warned of talent shortages, especially in technology, healthcare and engineering, where 70 percent of recent H-1B approvals went to Indian nationals. The bill also forbids federal agencies from hiring any non-immigrant workers, an unprecedented restriction that would hit research labs and defence contractors. The proposal faces long odds in a split Congress, but it marks a sharp rightward shift in the policy debate and will shape negotiations on a forthcoming omnibus immigration package. Employers that rely on the FY 2027 H-1B cap season (which opens 1 April 2026) should accelerate contingency planning: internal reskilling pipelines, Canada- or Mexico-based near-shoring hubs, or alternative US classifications such as E-2, L-1, or O-1 visas. Foreign students graduating in 2026 must weigh whether to remain in the United States without OPT or pivot to other destinations such as Canada’s new H-1B-open work-permit pathway. If enacted as written, the legislation would detonate existing business models built around high-volume outsourcing and could raise labour costs for US firms by an estimated 12-18 percent, according to early modelling by the National Foundation for American Policy.
Source: Moneycontrol
