US Senator flags H-1B abuse, raising questions for Indian tech talent

WASHINGTON: A senior US lawmaker has called on the Trump Administration to intensify federal oversight of corporate use of H-1B visas, warning that major American technology firms are laying off domestic employees while continuing to recruit thousands of foreign workers — a trend with direct repercussions for Indian professionals who form the largest cohort of H-1B recipients. In a letter to Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, Senator Ruben Gallego said high-skilled immigration must boost economic growth without becoming a mechanism to “undercut or replace US employees.” Gallego said the practice of mass layoffs followed by sustained H-1B hiring raises “important questions” about how large companies are using the visa programme.

“High-skilled immigration programs…spur economic growth that creates good-paying jobs for American workers,” Gallego wrote. “At the same time, we must ensure such programs are not used to undercut or replace US employees, especially as the American dream continues to grow further out of reach for young people.”

Gallego cited internal data showing that major technology firms have laid off hundreds of thousands of workers, even as they received approval in FY2025 to hire more than 30,000 foreign H-1B professionals. He highlighted elevated unemployment among young American tech workers and a steep decline in their presence in the industry: employees aged 21–25 accounted for 15% of the tech workforce in January 2023 but only 6.7% by mid-2025.

The senator warned that these labour trends compound broader economic pressures on Gen Z. More than 13% of unemployed Americans in July were first-time jobseekers — the highest share since 1988. Rising student debt, soaring home prices, and escalating childcare costs are further intensifying anxieties among young workers, he said.

Reaffirming that the H-1B programme is intended to “supplement the US workforce — not replace it,” Gallego pressed the administration for details on implementing Project Firewall, a multi-agency crackdown launched in September to strengthen H-1B compliance. He sought clarity on the number of new investigations planned, whether companies conducting layoffs would face heightened scrutiny, and how agencies would ensure employers prioritise qualified US workers.

The heightened oversight carries significant implications for India, whose nationals dominate the H-1B talent pool, especially in the tech sector. Any tightening of enforcement or changes in hiring patterns could directly affect Indian engineers, STEM graduates, and IT professionals seeking opportunities in the United States — a key pillar of India-US technology cooperation. (IANS)

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