Firms laying off Americans while hiring H-1B workers: US Senator sounds alarm

Senator flags H-1B abuse alarm

In a scathing letter to US immigration and labour authorities, US Senator Ruben Gallego warned that major tech firms are laying off hundreds of thousands of American employees even as they continue to hire skilled foreign professionals under the H-1B visa programme, raising serious questions about whether the system is being misused.

Gallego’s appeal comes amid widespread layoffs in the US technology industry. He cited data showing that in fiscal year 2025 companies approved to hire over 30,000 H-1B workers even as large-scale layoffs continued across their American workforce.

He pointed out a steep decline in young American employment in tech: employees aged 21-25 comprised 15 percent of major firms’ workforce in January 2023, a share that dropped to just 6.7 percent by mid-2025. That, according to him, underscores a deepening employment crisis among younger US workers just as foreign hiring surges.

While the H-1B programme was created to fill genuine high-skilled labour gaps, Gallego argued that the recent pattern shows it’s being used to “undercut or replace US employees.” He urged enforcement agencies to ensure the visa scheme is not exploited at the expense of American workers.

As part of the pressure for greater transparency, he requested clarity on how Project Firewall, a new multi-agency enforcement mechanism launched in September 2025, will be used to audit companies that replace US workers with H-1B labour. Specifically, he asked whether firms that laid off domestic employees will face “special scrutiny” and how the government will enforce rules requiring firms to prioritise qualified Americans.

The criticism isn’t limited to lawmakers. Industry observers and former consular officials have long argued that the H-1B programme increasingly diverges from its original purpose, which is to serve as a source of lower-cost foreign labour rather than filling unfilled high-skill demand.

For Indian professionals who form the largest bloc of H-1B visa holders, the developments are especially consequential. Any crackdown, tighter audits, or reputational backlash against hiring under H-1B could dampen employment prospects in US-facing tech roles.

As US lawmakers push for accountability, the debate around H-1B visas is intensifying, focusing not just on immigration policy, but on fairness, domestic employment, and the long-term role of foreign labour in America’s tech industry.