US Vice-President JD Vance defended the Trump administration's push to tighten the H-1B visa programme, arguing the system should attract highly skilled talent rather than let companies replace American workers with cheaper foreign hires.
He made the remarks on the All-In Podcast, where he said the administration was pursuing changes through executive and administrative measures because the US Congress lacked the political support for a broader legislative overhaul.
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Vance said the administration wanted H-1B applicants to be workers capable of making a significant contribution to the US economy and technology sector.
"If you're laying off American workers, you shouldn't be going to the market searching for foreign workers to replace them," the Vice President said, adding that the programme was meant to "bring the best and brightest people into the United States."
Two measures dominated the discussion. The first was a $100,000 fee on H-1B applications, intended to remove the financial incentive for companies to swap a $60,000 domestic employee for a $45,000 foreign hire.
The second targeted firms that applied for H-1B visas while simultaneously laying off American staff.
Vance called this a contradiction, pointing to companies that claimed they could not find workers locally despite laying off thousands of employees. He said some companies seeking H-1B visas described themselves as "desperate" for workers, even though their records showed they had laid off thousands.
The administration was still working out how to enforce the policy within legal limits, he said.
The remarks came as the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added a separate proposal to its regulatory agenda that would remove certain H-4 dependent spouses from the categories eligible for an Employment Authorisation Document, or work permit.
The 2015 rule had allowed some H-4 spouses to work once their H-1B partners reached specified stages of the green-card process.
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The change would disproportionately affect Indian families. US Citizenship and Immigration Services data showed Indians accounted for 71% of approved H-1B petitions in fiscal 2024, and roughly 93% of approved initial H-4 EAD applications had gone to Indian nationals, with about 94% going to women.
DHS had not yet published a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and no timetable had been set. Existing H-4 EAD holders were not losing their work permits as a result of the regulatory entry. A similar attempt during Trump's first term was withdrawn in January 2021 without taking effect.
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