H.R. 8443: End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026

End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026

This bill temporarily suspends H-1B visa issuance for three years and permanently overhauls nonimmigrant work programs by dramatically reducing visa caps, mandating stringent wage and fee requirements, barring family dependents, and eliminating any pathways to permanent residency from within the United States.

Section-by-Section

Sec. 1. Prohibits H-1B visas from being issued for a period of three years (this means the current crop of H-1Bs would rotate out of the country during the pause).

Sec. 2. Reforms the existing H-1B program for when it comes back online by:

1. Requiring H-1B applicants to have a foreign residence to which they intend to return when their visa expires;

2. Reducing the cap on H-1B visas to 25,000 from 65,000, eliminating the existing exemptions to the cap, and limiting H-1B visas to a single term of three years (from the current double term of six years);

3. Codifying the Trump H-1B fee of $100,000 and extending it to all new H-1Bs and to those seeking permission to change employers (feel free to designate how this fee should be used);

4. Requiring employers seeking to import H-1Bs to attest that they are unable to find a qualified American worker, that bringing in an H-1B will not adversely affect American workers, that they have not laid off workers in the previous 12 months and will not lay any off in the following 12 months, and that they will pay the H-1B a minimum of $200,000 per year;

5. Requiring USCIS to distribute H-1B visas each year according to the highest wages offered by employers, rather than in a lottery system; 

6. Barring H-1B workers from being employed by more than one employer at a time and barring third-party employers or staffing agencies (the so-called body shops) from employing H-1B workers.

Sec. 3. Disallows H nonimmigrants (including H-1Bs, H-2A agricultural workers, and H-2B seasonal workers) from bringing their family members with them. (This would eliminate a lot of the costs generated by the spouses and children of the low-skilled workers, including education costs. It would also eliminate the problem of granting employment authorization to the spouses of H-1Bs, which takes more jobs from American workers.)

Sec. 4. Prohibits the Federal Government from sponsoring or employing nonimmigrant workers.

Sec. 5. Eliminates Optional Practical Training (OPT) in all its forms.

Sec. 6. Makes nonimmigrant visas actually temporary by prohibiting nonimmigrant workers, including H-1Bs, from adjusting their status to lawful permanent residence. This means every nonimmigrant would have to return to their home country when the visa expires and apply for a green card from there.

Sec. 7. Prohibits nonimmigrants from changing from one nonimmigrant status to another without leaving the United States first. This will prevent H-1B workers who lose their jobs from switching to student or tourist visas so they can remain in the United States while they try to find a new employer.

Sec. 8. Establishes that all these changes are effective upon enactment.