Rep. Riley Moore is urging an end to the H-1B and OPT programs as the administration moves to discourage hiring foreign workers by dramatically raising costs, arguing those programs undercut American wages and workplaces.
Republican Rep. Riley Moore wants the federal government to pull the plug on H-1B and OPT visas just as the Trump administration floats a rule that would push application costs to more than $100,000 for some employers. This is a hardline approach aimed at forcing employers to choose domestic workers first, not a tweak to an existing system that critics say rewards cheap labor over American applicants.
Moore didn’t mince words when pressed on the staffing claims companies make. “I don’t believe that for a minute, that they have trouble finding people with skills in the U.S. to fill those jobs,” he said, pointing to the idea that the shortage argument is often a cover for cost-cutting rather than a genuine lack of qualified Americans.
He tied the visa system directly to wage pressure and labor substitution rather than skill gaps. “This isn’t about skills. This is about money. It’s about cheap labor. That’s what they’re looking for,” Moore added, framing the debate as one about protecting American paychecks and the integrity of the domestic labor market.
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Moore also highlighted how H-1B hires are frequently paid below U.S. market rates and how that undercuts graduates and other workers here at home. “If you look at every H-1B visa that’s put out there, it’s paying lower than what the market value of an American who has graduated with the exact same degree,” he said, arguing that the result is unfair competition for citizens entering the workforce.
He pushed a sovereignty argument as well, saying the United States should not be treated like a global wage arbitrage zone where companies can import cheaper labor inside our borders. “The United States is not an economic free-trade zone,” Moore said. “We are a sovereign nation, and citizens have rights and privileges by being citizens of this country. All of those H-1B visas, whether it’s in the tech sector or otherwise, we have millions of people graduating from college every year who are qualified to do those kinds of jobs.”
The Department of Homeland Security has circulated a proposal that would levy heavy fees on employers who opt for foreign workers instead of hiring Americans, and that proposal is currently accepting public comment on the Federal Register. Officials say the goal is to realign incentives so companies make hiring decisions based on value and necessity rather than the cheapest available labor option.
The open comment period on the proposed fee changes closes on September 24, giving advocates and industry groups a limited window to weigh in. That deadline matters because it sets the timeline for whether the policy moves from proposal toward enforcement, and it gives lawmakers and stakeholders just weeks to shape the rule’s final contours.
The administration’s scrutiny of these programs comes after an internal review uncovered widespread problems in the OPT program, which allows certain foreign students on F-1 visas to work temporarily. Investigators found evidence the program was being abused, with more than 10,000 individuals reportedly on F-1 visas working in what officials described as bogus jobs in exchange for residency advantages, raising questions about enforcement and integrity.
That fraud finding has become a key justification for tougher rules, and Republican lawmakers argue it shows the system is being gamed at the expense of American workers. For advocates of stricter enforcement, the combination of fraud allegations and large fee proposals presents an opportunity to reset policy in favor of domestic labor and stricter checks on companies that have relied on foreign hires as a cost strategy.
