Vice President JD Vance said he would support eliminating the H-1B visa program as U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) introduced legislation that would sharply increase penalties for employers who commit serious violations, including misconduct involving the displacement of American workers.
The developments Thursday put two approaches to the program before American workers and employers: Vance endorsed ending it, while Van Duyne proposed tougher enforcement. Her H-1B Visa Fraud Crackdown Act, H.R. 10643, would preserve the program while increasing civil penalties and extending restrictions on offending employers’ ability to sponsor foreign workers.
“My view is the H-1B program is completely broken, and I’d be very supportive of just eliminating it. But while we have it, what we have to do is protect American workers,” Vance said in an interview with Jack Posobiec aboard Air Force Two that aired October 1 on Human Events Daily.
Vance illustrated his concern with a hypothetical employer replacing an American accountant earning $60,000 annually with a foreign accountant earning $45,000. He distinguished that practice from recruiting exceptionally talented people to the United States.
H-1B allows employers to hire foreign workers temporarily for specialty occupations that generally require at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Existing wage rules require employers to pay at least the higher of the local prevailing wage or their actual wage for similarly employed workers, according to the Labor Department.
Higher fines and longer employer bans
Van Duyne introduced the bill October 1 with five original cosponsors, all Texas Republicans: U.S. Reps. Brandon Gill, Pete Sessions, Keith Self, Brian Babin and Pat Fallon. The House referred it to the Judiciary Committee. It remains a proposal, not law.
The bill text would raise one statutory maximum civil penalty from $5,000 to $100,000 per violation and extend the corresponding minimum employer debarment from two years to five. That provision covers willful violations, willful material misrepresentations and retaliation against employees who report suspected violations or cooperate with investigators.
A separate provision would raise a statutory maximum from $35,000 to $250,000 per violation and extend the minimum debarment from three years to 10. It applies to willful violations or misrepresentations involving displacement of a U.S. worker within the law’s specified period around a visa petition filing.
The legislation also would increase statutory civil penalties for certain immigration document fraud from $250-$2,000 to $1,000-$10,000 per document. For violators already subject to a document-fraud order, the range would rise from $2,000-$5,000 to $20,000-$50,000.
These figures describe amounts written into the statutes; agencies separately adjust civil penalties for inflation. Debarment restricts employers’ access to covered immigration petitions.
North Texas scrutiny predates the bill
Van Duyne announced a request for a coordinated federal investigation into reported North Texas H-1B fraud May 5. U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Fallon and Gill joined the letter, dated April 22. Her announcement specifically cited Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties.
The lawmakers requested sponsor audits, stronger enforcement, better information sharing among federal agencies and recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes. Their letter raised allegations of false job postings, wage manipulation and shell companies.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, an audit of federal labor records identified 193 requested H-1B positions across 46 certified applications from 33 private employers that named the Texas Department of Transportation or listed recognized agency addresses.
Those records did not establish that 193 people received visas or began work, that TxDOT violated state restrictions, or that American workers lost jobs. They documented applications by private employers, underscoring the distinction between requested positions and confirmed employment.
Separate visa fee remains blocked
The administration’s separate $100,000 H-1B fee also faces court challenges. U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. blocked federal agencies’ implementation September 30, finding that the challengers likely would prevail on claims that agencies skipped required rulemaking. The order also covers the administration’s September extension.
Employers challenging the fee argue that H-1B hiring fills essential vacancies. Michaelle Waters, practice administrator at Nephrology Associates of the Carolinas, said the payment hindered rural physician recruitment and efforts to address provider shortages, in a statement the challengers’ legal team released.
