Immigration Expert Warns H-1B Visa Ban Would Harm US Healthcare and Economy

Trump implemented a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications through a proclamation signed in September.

Washington:

A prominent Washington immigration expert has described Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's bill to eliminate H-1B visas as "one of the most efficient ways to hurt Americans," warning it would result in more "preventable deaths."

Speaking with IANS, Sarah Pierce, Director of Social Policy at Third Way think tank, explained that Greene's targeting of the visa program would "gut access to care overnight."

"Slashing the flow of foreign workers, including the medical professionals her own communities rely on, would gut access to care overnight."

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X last Friday, confirming her intention to introduce legislation to "ban H1B visas in all sectors" with an exception only for medical professionals.

In a video announcement Thursday, Greene outlined her proposal to reduce the annual visa cap from 85,000 to just 10,000. She indicated that even this medical exemption could be phased out within the next decade. Additionally, her bill would eliminate the pathway to citizenship, requiring visa holders to return to their home countries.

Pierce emphasized that Greene's proposed 10,000-visa exemption for medical professionals would still lead to more "preventable deaths."

"The H-1B programme currently brings in far more medical professionals than her arbitrary 10,000-visa cap allows. This bill would leave US families, especially in rural areas, with fewer doctors, longer wait times, and more preventable deaths. It's cruelty disguised as policy," she added.

While acknowledging that some US workers in the tech sector have lost jobs due to H-1B visas, Pierce argued that dismantling the entire program would be "both dishonest and dangerous."

"Eliminating it or drowning it in punitive fees would kneecap the American economy and jeopardise the sectors we rely on most."

Leading Republican and conservative figures have called for gutting H-1B visas following US President Donald Trump's defense of the foreign worker visa program.

During a Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham on Tuesday, Trump was asked about deprioritizing H-1B visas. He replied, "You do have to bring in talent."

When Ingraham countered, "We have plenty of talent," Trump responded, "No you don't."

"You don't have certain talents....And people have to learn, you can't take people off an unemployment line and say, I'm going to put you into a factory. We're going to make missiles," he added.

Laura Ingraham later posted on X, responding to a CNN debate on the issue: "America's survival depends on its importing an endless stream of foreign workers—supposedly all geniuses?"

The White House clarified Wednesday that it aims to address alleged abuses within the visa system rather than eliminating the program entirely.

Last week, the US Department of Labor launched at least 175 investigations into potential abuses of the H-1B visa program.

Pierce stressed that instead of "scapegoating" the program, Congress should take leadership in reforming it.

"Congress should do the hard work: reform the programme so it actually delivers for American workers and families. Because the truth is simple—we need more doctors, more home-care workers, and, yes, more high-skilled tech talent if we want this country to function," she said.

The administration's H-1B visa policy faces legal challenges, including lawsuits filed by the US Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business organization.

Pierce expressed confidence that these legal challenges would succeed but highlighted the difficulties facing current visa applicants.

"I will be very surprised if the legal challenges aren't successful. Unfortunately, even if they are, that doesn't help applicants who are currently applying and being forced to pay the absurdly high fee," she noted.

In 2024, workers born in India received over 70 percent of approved H-1B visas, primarily due to substantial approval backlogs and the high number of skilled immigrants from India.