Washington, D.C., Sept. 21, 2025 — President Donald J. Trump has signed a sweeping proclamation restricting the entry of certain nonimmigrant workers under the H-1B visa program, citing widespread abuse, displacement of American workers, and risks to national security. The order requires companies to pay $100,000 per petition for new H-1B applications unless exempted on national interest grounds. The restrictions take effect at 12:01 a.m. on September 21, 2025, and will remain in force for 12 months unless extended.
The H-1B program was originally designed to supplement the U.S. workforce with highly skilled, temporary workers. However, the President said it has been deliberately manipulated by employers, particularly in the information technology (IT) sector, to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign labor. Trump emphasized that this abuse has depressed wages, displaced college graduates, and undermined America’s leadership in critical science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
Rising Dependence on Foreign Workers
The number of foreign STEM workers in the U.S. has more than doubled from 1.2 million in 2000 to nearly 2.5 million in 2019, while overall STEM employment grew by only 44.5 percent during that period. Among computer and math occupations, the foreign share of the workforce rose from 17.7 percent in 2000 to 26.1 percent in 2019. IT firms have played a central role in this expansion, with the share of IT workers in the H-1B program growing from 32 percent in 2003 to more than 65 percent in recent years.
Some of the largest H-1B employers are outsourcing firms that offer what one study described as a 36 percent discount for “entry-level” H-1B positions compared to American workers. This cost advantage has driven U.S. companies to shut down IT divisions, lay off American staff, and outsource jobs to foreign workers.
Impact on American Graduates and Workers
The proclamation highlights the challenges faced by American college graduates in computer science and engineering. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, unemployment among recent computer science graduates ages 22 to 27 stands at 6.1 percent, while computer engineering graduates face a 7.5 percent unemployment rate — more than double the rates of recent biology or art history graduates. Recent data shows that unemployment among computer workers jumped from 1.98 percent in 2019 to 3.02 percent in 2025.
Reports reveal that U.S. tech companies are laying off thousands of American employees while increasing reliance on H-1B hires. In FY 2025, one software company was approved for more than 5,000 H-1B workers while announcing layoffs of over 15,000 staff. Another IT firm gained approval for 1,700 H-1B workers while laying off 2,400 employees in Oregon. A third company cut 27,000 American jobs since 2022 while securing over 25,000 H-1B approvals. Yet another firm eliminated 1,000 jobs this year while being approved for more than 1,100 H-1B hires.
American workers have reported being forced to train their foreign replacements and sign nondisclosure agreements as a condition of severance. The President said such practices prove the visas are being used to undercut, not supplement, the domestic workforce.
Economic and Security Threats
Officials warn that these abuses not only harm the labor market but also pose national security risks. H-1B-dependent outsourcing companies have been investigated for visa fraud, racketeering, money laundering, and other illicit activities. Moreover, the influx of low-paid foreign workers dissuades Americans from pursuing STEM careers, jeopardizing the nation’s long-term technological leadership. A 2017 study estimated that without such labor importation, wages for American computer scientists would have been 2.6 to 5.1 percent higher, and employment for U.S. workers in the field would have been 6.1 to 10.8 percent greater.
Details of the Proclamation
Under the new rules:
- Employers must pay $100,000 with each H-1B petition for workers outside the U.S., unless exempted for national interest reasons by the Department of Homeland Security.
- The Department of State will verify payments before approving visa petitions, while DHS and State will coordinate enforcement and deny entry to those lacking compliance.
- The restriction applies only to workers seeking entry after the effective date. A review will be conducted following the next H-1B lottery to determine whether to extend the policy.
- The Department of Labor will initiate rulemaking to raise prevailing wage levels for H-1B workers, while DHS will prioritize high-skilled, high-paid applicants.
Putting American Workers First
The White House stressed that the action fulfills Trump’s commitment to prioritize American jobs. The administration has also pursued new trade deals, implemented Section 232 tariffs to protect U.S. manufacturing, tightened federal workforce programs to exclude illegal aliens, and reported that since Trump’s return to office, all employment gains have gone to American-born workers — a reversal from 2024, when gains largely went to foreign-born labor.
“The unrestricted entry of certain foreign workers would be detrimental to the interests of the United States because it harms American workers, including by undercutting their wages,” Trump declared in the proclamation. “It is therefore necessary to impose higher costs on companies seeking to use the H-1B program, while still permitting them to hire the best of the best temporary foreign workers.”
The order, signed September 19, 2025, marks one of the most aggressive reforms to the H-1B system in decades, with potentially sweeping consequences for U.S. tech firms, foreign workers, and the broader labor market.
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