January 1, Trump’s H-1B Order Shakes Big Tech Giants

Wyatt’s Take

• President Trump’s executive order places a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, aiming to stop job losses for Americans.
• The H-1B program was meant to fill temporary worker gaps, but now it often replaces U.S. workers and drives down wages.
• Large companies and outsourcing firms have used loopholes and cap exemptions to bring in thousands of foreign workers while laying off Americans.

President Trump signed an order putting a steep new price on each H-1B visa application, looking to slow the flood of cheap foreign labor. The rollout left some folks confused, but it marks the first real step in fixing a broken system.

The H-1B program was started decades ago for shortfalls in specialized jobs. Over time, companies have used it to swap out Americans for cheaper workers from overseas.

More visas get handed out every year than the original 65,000 limit, with exceptions for advanced degrees and for universities. Spouses of visa holders can also now work, stretching the impact further.

“Fraud, nepotism and corruption have long compromised the H-1B process.”

U.S. colleges turn out more STEM graduates than there are tech jobs to fill, leaving many Americans out in the cold. According to Howard University’s Ron Hira, most H-1B visa holders are just ordinary skilled workers, not rare experts.

“Visa overstays are a national security issue.”

While Amazon, Microsoft, and others blame layoffs on other reasons, many workers say they’re being cut just as companies fill spots with H-1Bs. Sometimes, Americans are even told to train their foreign replacements.

Politicians have started to demand answers from tech CEOs, saying, “we find it hard to believe that [you] cannot find qualified American tech workers to fill these positions.”

The law says H-1Bs come with three-year caps, but workers keep extending their stay with loopholes if they can’t get green cards, and country caps draw out the process for years.

Outsourcing companies are among the worst abusers of H-1B visas. Seventy percent of new H-1B hires are from India, with China trailing behind. Some companies get around bad publicity by using third-party agencies to bring in workers for less money.

“In pleading guilty, Dattapuram admitted to working with Aswapathi and Giri to submit fraudulent H-1B applications that falsely represented that foreign workers had specific jobs waiting for them at designated end-client companies when, in fact, the jobs did not exist.”

One outsourcing firm alone has petitioned for more than 52,000 new visas since 2009. Recent federal findings showed they purposefully discriminated against Americans to favor H-1B workers, making local employees twice as likely to lose their jobs.

If these loopholes and abuses continue, it’s Main Street America that pays the price.

It’s time to get loud. Stay tuned and share these stories—America’s future depends on putting our workers first.

Wyatt Matters

Honest work and fair wages mean everything in the heartland. Letting special interests rig the job market against American workers leaves whole communities behind. Policies that reward our neighbors, friends, and family members for their skills and dedication will keep our country strong.

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