President Donald Trump is expanding his administration’s crackdown on alleged abuses of the H-1B visa program, directing federal agencies to scrutinize companies that seek foreign workers while laying off Americans.

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Under an executive order signed Thursday, federal officials considering H-1B petitions will examine whether sponsoring employers have conducted layoffs within the previous year or are planning layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated American workers. The order brings several federal agencies together to share employment, wage, industry, and other economic information when reviewing H-1B applications.

The administration says the changes are intended to return the H-1B program to its original purpose: allowing employers to bring highly skilled foreign workers into the country to supplement, rather than replace, the American workforce.

“Our message to corporate America is simple: We’re not going to let you lay off American workers so you can replace them with cheap foreign labor,” Vice President JD Vance said.

The executive order also directs the Department of Labor to begin reviewing data from previously submitted H-1B labor condition applications within 30 days to determine whether action against sponsoring employers may be warranted. That means the administration’s scrutiny will not necessarily be limited to companies submitting new applications.

The White House alleges that some companies have simultaneously laid off large numbers of American employees and sought H-1B workers. According to the administration, technology employers collectively requested hundreds of thousands of H-1B visas while the industry shed between 800,000 and 1.3 million American jobs from 2022 through 2026. The administration has even cited cases in which laid-off American employees were reportedly required to train foreign workers who replaced them.

Thursday’s action builds on a broader H-1B crackdown that began last year. In September 2025, the Department of Labor launched Project Firewall, an enforcement initiative designed to investigate employers suspected of abusing the visa program. Violations uncovered through those investigations can result in back wages, civil penalties, and employers being temporarily barred from participating in the H-1B program.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said at the time that the administration intended to ensure employers were not using the program “at the expense of our workforce.”

“By rooting out fraud and abuse, the Department of Labor and our federal partners will ensure that highly skilled jobs go to Americans first,” she said.

Trump is also renewing a $100,000 fee requirement for certain H-1B applications that was first imposed in September 2025. The administration credits that policy with dramatically reducing applications associated with large outsourcing companies. According to the White House, H-1B registrations filed by the largest IT outsourcing firms have fallen 92 percent since the policy took effect, while consular processing requests have declined nearly 97 percent.

The administration has made other changes to how H-1B visas are distributed. The Department of Homeland Security replaced the program’s randomized lottery with a weighted selection system based on wage levels, with the new system taking effect for fiscal year 2027. The White House says H-1B registrations have fallen nearly 40 percent under the change.

Supporters of the crackdown argue that the H-1B program has strayed from its purpose of filling specialized positions for which qualified American workers cannot be found. Critics of restrictions on the program, however, have long argued that H-1B workers help American companies recruit specialized talent and remain competitive in industries such as technology and engineering.

The administration is making clear that its focus is not simply on reducing legal immigration, but on determining whether employers are using a program for specialized foreign talent to displace American workers. With federal agencies now examining layoffs alongside H-1B applications, companies seeking foreign workers could face considerably greater scrutiny over their treatment of their existing American workforce.

As the administration works to reform the H-1B program, let’s pray for wisdom for President Trump, Vice President Vance, and federal officials tasked with enforcing these laws. Let’s also pray that fraud and exploitation would be exposed, that legitimate needs for specialized talent would be handled wisely, and that American workers and families would be protected from unfair employment practices.

Do you believe companies should be allowed to hire H-1B workers while laying off Americans? Share your thoughts, prayers, and scriptures below.

(Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)