US Vice President JD Vance has called the H-1B visa program “completely broken” and said he would support eliminating it, arguing that the system has been used by employers to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees.
In a video posted on X, Vance said the program had been “totally taken advantage of” not only by technology companies but also by accounting firms and others. He distinguished between hiring highly skilled foreign professionals and using H-1B visas to reduce labor costs.
“If you’re going to bring in an accountant making $45,000 a year to replace an accountant who is an American making $60,000 a year, that’s not you using the program to bring in a genius,” Vance said. “That’s you destroying American jobs and defrauding the American people.”
Vance defends $100,000 H-1B payment
Vance also defended the Trump administration's controversial $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B petitions.
{{/usCountry}}Vance also defended the Trump administration's controversial $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B petitions.
{{/usCountry}}The payment was first introduced in September 2025 for covered H-1B petitions involving workers outside the US. The White House renewed the restriction in September 2026, extending it through September 21, 2027, with limited exceptions, including cases determined to be in the national interest.
Vance said the administration viewed the payment as a way to discourage employers from using H-1B visas simply to hire cheaper foreign labor.
“If you’re just trying to replace an American accountant with a cheaper foreign accountant, then you’re not going to pay $100,000,” he said.
The administration has argued that the measure is intended to shift H-1B hiring towards higher-skilled and higher-paid workers. The White House said H-1B registrations from the largest IT outsourcing firms fell 92% after the 2025 proclamation took effect.
Trump administration tightens H-1B scrutiny
Vance's remarks come as the Trump administration pursues broader changes to the H-1B system.
A September 18 executive order directs the departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security to consider whether an employer has recently laid off, or plans to lay off, similarly situated US workers when reviewing H-1B applications. The order also directs the Labor Department to review previously submitted labor-condition applications for potential enforcement action.
The administration has separately introduced a weighted H-1B selection system that gives greater weight to higher-paid positions.
Vance, however, suggested that even these changes may not go far enough.
“My view is the H-1B program is completely broken, and I’d be very supportive of just eliminating it,” he said. “But while we have it, what we have to do is protect American workers.”
His comments come as the $100,000 payment itself faces legal challenges. On October 1, a federal judge blocked the fee, ruling that the administration had not followed required rule-making procedures. A separate federal challenge had already resulted in a block earlier this year.