Trump Continues Crackdown on H-1B Visas
President Donald Trump and his administration are continuing their crackdown on the H-1B visa program.
Executive Actions
On September 18, Trump signed two executive actions further restricting H-1B visas. The first, a proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” extends for one year a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas that Trump imposed last year. The second, an executive order titled “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program,” requires federal agencies to “implement appropriate measures to protect American workers from abuse of the H-1B program and ensure that the program serves the national interest.”
Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee is currently being litigated in federal court. In July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit upheld a lower-court block of Trump’s 2025 proclamation. The administration is appealing the ruling.
Trump’s executive actions are only the latest steps by his administration to rein in the H-1B visa program — and they appear to be having the intended effect. His September 18 proclamation notes:
Since the effective date of the 2025 Proclamation and subsequent promulgation of the DHS final rule, there have been several measurable impacts on the H-1B program, including a significant reduction in H-1B registrations filed by large IT outsourcing firms, with the largest IT staffing and outsourcing firms reducing their combined H-1B registrations from 24,946 to 2,055, a 92 percent decrease. There has also been a large reduction in consular processing requests, which are used to bring workers into the United States, noting a nearly 97 percent decrease from the FY 2025 to FY 2027 cap seasons. Finally, there has been a positive shift in FY 2027 H-1B registration and selection data toward higher-skilled and higher-paid workers, with registrations for beneficiaries with at least a U.S. Master’s degree rising from 45.1 percent of total registrants for FY 2026 to 66.1 percent for FY 2027.
As The New American has previously explained, H-1B visas, along with other visa programs, encourage mass migration into the United States, harm American citizens economically, and compromise national security.
Congressional Action Needed
Although Trump’s actions to rein in the H-1B visa program are a clear step in the right direction, they are not enough. As executive actions, they can easily be undone by a future president. Ultimately, Congress must act by repealing the H-1B visa program, as well as the Immigration Act of 1990 — the law that created the program — and other pro-open-borders immigration laws. Additionally, Congress must enforce Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution by eliminating the executive branch’s ability to flexibly enforce federal laws, which has resulted in significant shifts in federal policy without legislative action by Congress.
On H-1B visas and every other issue, our leaders must follow the U.S. Constitution and uphold American sovereignty.
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