To Congress and the President: End the H-1B Program
To Congress and the President: End the H-1B Program
The Issue
We, the undersigned, demand legislation to end the H-1B visa program through an orderly phaseout that protects existing workers and their families.
Employers should compete for talent by raising wages, improving working conditions, and investing in training. Federal policy should hold them accountable for those choices. Yet H-1B allows hiring without a universal requirement to establish that qualified U.S. workers are unavailable.
Our demand rests on documented weaknesses in the program’s rules.
1. H-1B approval is not proof of a labor shortage.
Federal law does not generally require H-1B employers to recruit U.S. workers first and demonstrate that none are qualified and available. Additional recruitment requirements apply to certain H-1B-dependent employers and willful violators, with exemptions. Consequently, employer demand for H-1B workers cannot, by itself, establish a shortage of domestic talent.
Before granting employers access to a special hiring program, the government should demand more than an assertion that they need it.
2. Key worker protections contain broad exemptions.
The Department of Labor states that H-1B-dependent employers and willful violators using applications exclusively for exempt H-1B workers are relieved of additional recruitment, hiring, and nondisplacement obligations. A worker can qualify as exempt by earning at least $60,000 annually or holding a qualifying master’s degree or higher in a related specialty.
Neither a salary threshold nor a degree proves that an employer could not recruit an available U.S. worker. These exemptions weaken the very protections offered as justification for the program.
3. Labor-application certification is not a comprehensive investigation.
The statute directs the Department of Labor to review labor condition applications for completeness and obvious inaccuracies, generally certifying them within seven days unless they fail that review. Certification is therefore not government verification that an employer exhausted domestic recruitment or demonstrated a genuine shortage.
Workers deserve safeguards grounded in evidence and enforcement.
4. Wage protections do not cure the recruitment problem.
H-1B employers must pay the higher of the applicable prevailing wage or the actual wage paid to comparable employees with similar experience and qualifications. This requirement matters, but it does not establish that qualified domestic applicants received a fair opportunity to compete for the position.
Our argument does not require pretending that every H-1B worker earns low wages. USCIS reported median annual compensation of $97,000 for beneficiaries approved for initial employment in fiscal year 2024. The central question is whether this hiring system adequately protects opportunity, fair competition, and employer accountability.
We call for concrete legislative action:
End new H-1B admissions and establish a statutory phaseout.
Give existing visa holders and their families a reasonable transition period and access to other lawful immigration options for which they qualify.
Enforce wage obligations and protect workers who report violations.
Invest in apprenticeships, paid entry-level jobs, and retraining for displaced workers.
Publish employer-level information on program use, compensation, violations, and enforcement during the transition.
To both political parties: earn workers’ votes.
Democrats should not assume that opposition to Republicans guarantees support in 2028. Republicans should not assume that pro-worker rhetoric excuses weak employer accountability. Any party seeking workers’ votes must answer for the hiring policies it supports.
We will judge candidates by whether they advance legislation, enforce labor protections, and invest in people seeking an opportunity to work.
H-1B workers followed the rules lawmakers created. They deserve dignity and fair treatment. Congress must take responsibility for changing those rules.
End H-1B through an orderly phaseout. Make employers compete for workers. Put training, wages, and opportunity at the center of American labor policy.
Signed: We The People
1
The Issue
We, the undersigned, demand legislation to end the H-1B visa program through an orderly phaseout that protects existing workers and their families.
Employers should compete for talent by raising wages, improving working conditions, and investing in training. Federal policy should hold them accountable for those choices. Yet H-1B allows hiring without a universal requirement to establish that qualified U.S. workers are unavailable.
Our demand rests on documented weaknesses in the program’s rules.
1. H-1B approval is not proof of a labor shortage.
Federal law does not generally require H-1B employers to recruit U.S. workers first and demonstrate that none are qualified and available. Additional recruitment requirements apply to certain H-1B-dependent employers and willful violators, with exemptions. Consequently, employer demand for H-1B workers cannot, by itself, establish a shortage of domestic talent.
Before granting employers access to a special hiring program, the government should demand more than an assertion that they need it.
2. Key worker protections contain broad exemptions.
The Department of Labor states that H-1B-dependent employers and willful violators using applications exclusively for exempt H-1B workers are relieved of additional recruitment, hiring, and nondisplacement obligations. A worker can qualify as exempt by earning at least $60,000 annually or holding a qualifying master’s degree or higher in a related specialty.
Neither a salary threshold nor a degree proves that an employer could not recruit an available U.S. worker. These exemptions weaken the very protections offered as justification for the program.
3. Labor-application certification is not a comprehensive investigation.
The statute directs the Department of Labor to review labor condition applications for completeness and obvious inaccuracies, generally certifying them within seven days unless they fail that review. Certification is therefore not government verification that an employer exhausted domestic recruitment or demonstrated a genuine shortage.
Workers deserve safeguards grounded in evidence and enforcement.
4. Wage protections do not cure the recruitment problem.
H-1B employers must pay the higher of the applicable prevailing wage or the actual wage paid to comparable employees with similar experience and qualifications. This requirement matters, but it does not establish that qualified domestic applicants received a fair opportunity to compete for the position.
Our argument does not require pretending that every H-1B worker earns low wages. USCIS reported median annual compensation of $97,000 for beneficiaries approved for initial employment in fiscal year 2024. The central question is whether this hiring system adequately protects opportunity, fair competition, and employer accountability.
We call for concrete legislative action:
End new H-1B admissions and establish a statutory phaseout.
Give existing visa holders and their families a reasonable transition period and access to other lawful immigration options for which they qualify.
Enforce wage obligations and protect workers who report violations.
Invest in apprenticeships, paid entry-level jobs, and retraining for displaced workers.
Publish employer-level information on program use, compensation, violations, and enforcement during the transition.
To both political parties: earn workers’ votes.
Democrats should not assume that opposition to Republicans guarantees support in 2028. Republicans should not assume that pro-worker rhetoric excuses weak employer accountability. Any party seeking workers’ votes must answer for the hiring policies it supports.
We will judge candidates by whether they advance legislation, enforce labor protections, and invest in people seeking an opportunity to work.
H-1B workers followed the rules lawmakers created. They deserve dignity and fair treatment. Congress must take responsibility for changing those rules.
End H-1B through an orderly phaseout. Make employers compete for workers. Put training, wages, and opportunity at the center of American labor policy.
Signed: We The People
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Petition created on November 5, 2026