By Sam StevensonShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA Donald Trump-backing think tank has urged Congress and the White House to enact drastic reforms to H-1B visas.
The Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank whose agenda is closely associated with the Trump administration’s Project 2025, has proposed sweeping changes to the controversial program.
Why It Matters
The push for stricter regulations reflects growing concerns over the impact of skilled foreign labor on American jobs and wages, especially in technology and research sectors.
These developments come as the Department of Labor (DOL) rolls out new enforcement in collaboration with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other partners under “Project Firewall,” aiming to safeguard employment opportunities for American workers.
Newsweek contacted the DOJ and the DOL via email for comment.
...What To Know
The Heritage Foundation’s report, first revealed by the Daily Caller, calls for eliminating exemptions for research and nonprofit organizations, replacing the H-1B lottery with a wage-based ranking system, and clarifying that H-4 visa holders—the spouses of H-1B recipients—should not be permitted to work.
It further recommends imposing strict annual caps on each company's H-1B applications and implementing permanent bars against any “company, individual or entity from petitioning or participating” in the process if found in violation of immigration law.
It proposes increased transparency by mandating the DOL to publish monthly statistics on H-1B petitions, layoffs, complaints, and investigations, and calls for robust enforcement actions involving the DOJ.
Trump has introduced a controversial $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025.
This policy, which replaced the previous range of approximately $2,000–$5,000 per petition, applies to beneficiaries outside the U.S., with national interest exemptions available on a case-by-case basis.
Critics at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) think tank warn that the fee could restrict access to highly skilled immigrants and place U.S. employers—especially startups and smaller firms—at a competitive disadvantage compared to larger companies.
At the same time, the DOL’s Project Firewall initiative has begun enhanced federal enforcement to prevent discrimination against American workers in the H-1B process.
It coordinates with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other departments to ensure "qualified Americans" are considered for skilled jobs before employers turn to foreign workers.
What People Are Saying
Simon Hankinson, Heritage Foundation senior research fellow, said: “It’s past time for Congress to end not only the numerous types of H-1B abuses, but also the administrative state creations that developed the student-to-H-1B-green-card pipeline that adversely affects American students and employees.”
Defending the need for skilled workers, Trump said: “For instance, if you’re going to be making chips — we don’t make chips too much here anymore, but we are going to be in a period of a year, we’re going to have a big portion of the chip market. But we have to train our people how to make chips.”
Trump supporter-turned-critic Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has floated plans to end H1-B visas, said: “Big Tech, AI giants, hospitals, and industries across the board have abused the H-1B system to cut out our own people.”
CFR trade and immigration expert Edward Alden said: “There’s always been a reasonable consensus that highly skilled immigration is good for the United States.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “President Trump does not support American workers being replaced. He has a nuanced, commonsense approach — after those factories are up and running and workers are trained, these companies better be hiring American workers.”
What Happens Next
The Heritage Foundation's recommendations—and the Trump administration’s existing $100,000 H-1B petition fee—are likely to increase federal scrutiny over the use of skilled foreign labor.
Project Firewall is expected to accelerate investigations and enforcement actions against employers failing to prioritize American workers.
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