US Department of Labor all set to crack down on ‘H-1B Abuse’, push ‘Hire American’ agenda

“End H-1B abuse. Hire American,” the US Department of Labor said in a post on X on Sunday, signaling a major crackdown on practices it views as exploitative under the H-1B skilled-worker visa program.

The Department emphasized that its aim is to protect American workers, stating, “We’re fighting for the American Dream.” The announcement comes shortly after President Donald Trump’s surprise executive order imposing a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, directly affecting the largest group of beneficiaries of the program with Indians overwhelmingly dominating the H-1B visa program, especially in tech-related roles.

The H-1B visa allows foreign professionals to work in the US for three years, renewable for another three. Economists have noted that the program historically enabled US companies to stay competitive, foster innovation, and generate additional domestic jobs.

However, the Department of Labor highlighted concerns that some employers misuse the program to displace American workers or exploit foreign labor without contributing meaningfully to the economy.

Coinciding with President Trump’s signing of the executive orders launching the immigration reforms ,US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick praised the administration’s overhaul of visa programs, explaining that the changes aim to ensure foreign workers provide “significant benefit” to the US.

Following Trump’s announcement of the new ‘Gold Card’ visa program, with fees set at USD 1 million for individuals and USD 2 million for businesses, Lutnick criticized the prior administration’s approach. In a post on X, he described it as the “open-border Democrats’ disastrous agenda” that allegedly flooded the country with illegal immigrants at the expense of American citizens.

Lutnick added, “For the past four years, open-border Democrats endlessly flooded the country with illegal aliens at the expense of hard-working Americans. The Trump administration is completely reversing course on that disastrous agenda. These programs guarantee that recipients who come to work in America must provide significant benefit to our great country. We are ending workers taking jobs away from hard-working Americans and taking advantage of our economy without providing anything in return. The Trump Card begins to restore our immigration system to its intended purpose: significantly benefitting America.”

The Department of Labor and Commerce are framing these moves as part of a broader push to protect domestic employment, curb exploitation, and reinforce the principle that the American Dream should primarily benefit citizens and legal residents of the country.