The Trump administration is expanding scrutiny of H-1B sponsors by directing federal agencies to consider whether companies seeking skilled foreign workers recently laid off — or plan to lay off — similarly situated U.S. employees.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The Trump administration is tightening oversight of the H-1B visa program by requiring federal officials to examine whether sponsoring companies have recently laid off American employees or intend to make layoffs affecting U.S. workers in comparable positions.
Under an executive order signed Sept. 18, the departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security must take an employer’s workforce decisions into account when reviewing H-1B labor applications, petitions, visas and entry requests. The order specifically directs officials to consider whether a sponsoring employer directly or indirectly conducted layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs that would negatively affect similarly situated U.S. workers.
The directive also expands coordination across the federal government. State, Labor and Homeland Security officials are instructed to consult with the Commerce and Education departments and the Small Business Administration for additional information about wages, industry conditions, employment specialization and other factors relevant to H-1B applications.
The administration says the additional scrutiny is intended to prevent employers from dismissing American workers and subsequently filling comparable positions with H-1B employees.
“Our message to corporate America is simple: We’re not going to let you lay off American workers so you can replace them with cheap foreign labor,” Vice President JD Vance said.
The H-1B program permits U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign nationals for specialty occupations that generally require highly specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualifications. Technology companies are among its largest users, although employers in medicine, engineering, education, finance and other fields also participate.
The program is often described as a mechanism for bringing highly skilled employees into the country when companies have difficulty finding domestic talent, but federal law does not impose a universal requirement that every H-1B employer first demonstrate that no qualified American is available. Different wage and worker-protection requirements apply depending on the employer and circumstances.
The White House contends that some outsourcing firms and other employers have instead used H-1B workers to reduce labor costs and displace Americans.
Trump’s order says the administration considers what it calls “large-scale, systematic abuse” of the program a threat to the wages, working conditions and employment opportunities of skilled U.S. workers. That description reflects the administration’s position in issuing the order rather than a finding that all or most H-1B employers engage in such practices.
The administration is also directing the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division to review previously submitted labor condition applications and determine whether enforcement action against sponsoring employers may be warranted.
The order requires that review process to begin within 30 days.
The new scrutiny comes alongside Trump’s extension of a separate $100,000 payment requirement first imposed in September 2025.
The restriction generally applies to certain H-1B workers outside the United States whose petitions must be accompanied or supplemented by the $100,000 payment before they can enter under the program. The proclamation contains exceptions when the Homeland Security secretary determines that an individual, company or industry qualifies for a national-interest exemption and does not present a threat to U.S. security or welfare.
Trump extended that policy for another year, through September 2027. The administration says the payment is designed to discourage employers from using H-1B workers primarily as a source of less expensive labor.
The requirement has also faced legal challenges. Reuters reported that a federal judge previously ruled against the $100,000 policy, with litigation continuing as the administration seeks to keep it in force.
Businesses and technology industry groups have argued that steep new costs and restrictions could make it substantially harder for American companies to recruit engineers, researchers and other highly specialized workers, particularly in fields where U.S. companies compete internationally for talent.
The administration, however, points to a sharp decline in applications from major outsourcing companies as evidence that its earlier changes are affecting how the program is used.
According to a White House fact sheet, H-1B registrations submitted by the largest IT outsourcing firms have fallen 92% since the 2025 proclamation took effect. The administration also says requests for consular processing have declined by nearly 97%. Those percentages are White House figures describing the effects of its policies.
The administration additionally says the applicant pool has shifted toward workers offered higher salaries and possessing more advanced qualifications.
In December 2025, the government replaced the traditional randomized H-1B selection system with a weighted process based partly on wage level. Fiscal year 2027 was the first cap season conducted using the new system, and the White House says registrations declined by almost 40%.
The H-1B program has become an increasingly contentious issue within both the technology industry and Republican politics.
Supporters say access to skilled foreign workers helps U.S. companies develop new technology, fill specialized positions and maintain an advantage over overseas competitors. Critics argue the system can create incentives to hire foreign workers at lower wages or use outsourcing arrangements that ultimately shift jobs abroad.
The administration’s latest order attempts to address one of the most politically sensitive scenarios in that debate: companies seeking additional H-1B workers while simultaneously reducing their American workforce.
Federal agencies are now directed to examine those employment decisions as part of their review rather than considering an H-1B petition in isolation.
The White House says the objective is to preserve H-1B visas for specialized foreign talent while making it more difficult for employers to use the program as a substitute for American workers.
The practical effect will depend on how State, Labor and Homeland Security implement the new review standards and what weight they ultimately give layoffs when deciding individual applications.
What the order makes explicit is that an employer’s treatment of its existing U.S. workforce will now play a larger role in whether the government approves its effort to bring additional H-1B workers into the country.
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