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By Dan Gooding, Hollie Silverman, and Billal Rahman
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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is moving to tighten rules around the hiring of foreign workers after the White House slapped fees on the next generation of H-1B visa holders.
Lead Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, introduced legislation to reform the H-1B and L-1 visa programs, which allow U.S. employers to bring in high-skilled workers from abroad.
“Congress created the H-1B and L-1 visa programs as limited pathways for businesses to acquire top talent when it can’t be found at home. But over the years, many employers have used them to cut out American workers in favor of cheap foreign labor. Congress must step in again to bring integrity back to these programs and restore dignity for American and foreign workers,” Grassley told Newsweek on Monday. “There’s bipartisan acknowledgement that these programs ought to be returned to their intended purpose. Our bill would make that shared goal a reality.”
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Why It Matters
The H-1B and L-1 visa programs have fueled decades of debate over their economic impact and use by major U.S. companies, particularly in technology, finance, and health care. Lawmakers from both parties contend that loopholes allow some corporations to prioritize foreign labor at the expense of American workers, contributing to job outsourcing and wage suppression. As major tech employers implement significant layoffs while continuing to hire H-1B visa workers, scrutiny around these programs has intensified in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections.
What To Know
The senators argue the programs, originally designed to fill gaps in the domestic workforce, have been misused by companies seeking to reduce labor costs. The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act would tighten rules on employers by raising wage standards, giving the Department of Labor (DOL) broader investigative powers, and adding new oversight measures.
The proposal also calls for prioritizing visa applications from workers with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
The bill also calls for employers to be forced to list potential H-1B roles on a DOL website, so American citizens and laid-off H-1B visa holders can apply. Applicants with higher levels of education and experience would also be prioritized.
A fee of $200 would be charged to companies seeking labor condition approvals to apply for H-1Bs, in order to fund more staff at the DOL, the senators proposed.
The reintroduction of a bill first introduced in 2007 comes as major technology firms, including Amazon, Google, and Meta, face scrutiny for continuing to file thousands of visa petitions while laying off U.S. employees. Grassley and Durbin recently sent letters to 10 large employers questioning those practices.
The bill has drawn bipartisan support from Senators Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent. It is also the second H-1B reform bill to be introduced by a senator in recent weeks, with Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, also pushing legislation which would rework the program.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is seeking other ways to change the visa, including the president's plan for a $100,000 fee for new applications—something attorneys and applicants are concerned about given no obvious way to pay the new fee.
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What People Are Saying
Todd Schulte, president of bipartisan political group FWD.us, speaking to Newsweek about the H-1B on September 22: "We should be thinking about reforming, improving, expanding this, and other immigration avenues that allow top talent from around the world to come to the US. We should be making it easier for companies in a predictable fashion to hire people. We should be making it easier for all those people to have mobility between employers, to go to startups and ultimately to get permanent residency and naturalize."
Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, in a statement shared with Newsweek: “Major companies are laying off thousands of American workers while filing thousands of visa petitions for foreign workers at depressed wages and poor working conditions. Congress must step in to protect American workers and fix our broken immigration system. Senator Grassley and I will work to make this bipartisan bill the law of the land."
Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, said in a September 17 press release: “Corporations rigged the system to flood the country with cheap foreign labor and drive down wages. This bill puts American workers first.”
What Happens Next?
With White House and congressional plans to change the H-1B, attorneys and applicants will be watching to see which ideas come to fruition.
Update 9/29/25, 5:33 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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