Vice President JD Vance on Thursday warned US companies against laying off American employees and replacing them with foreign workers, as the Trump administration steps up scrutiny of employers using the H-1B visa program.
“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,” Vance said in a post on X on September 24, linking to a White House announcement.
The remarks come days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at increasing scrutiny of H-1B applications where US workers could be affected by layoffs.
H-1B employers face greater scrutiny over layoffs
{{/usCountry}}The remarks come days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at increasing scrutiny of H-1B applications where US workers could be affected by layoffs.
H-1B employers face greater scrutiny over layoffs
{{/usCountry}}Under the September 18 executive order, the departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security must consider whether an employer sponsoring an H-1B worker has directly or indirectly carried out layoffs of similarly situated US workers during the previous year or plans future layoffs affecting them.
The order also directs the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division to begin reviewing data from previously submitted labor condition applications within 30 days to determine whether further action against sponsoring employers is warranted.
The White House said the administration wants greater coordination among federal agencies, with the departments of Commerce and Education and the Small Business Administration providing information on wages, employment, academic and industry conditions.
The administration has argued that some employers have used the H-1B program to obtain lower-paid foreign labor while reducing their US workforce. The White House order cites technology-sector layoffs between 2022 and 2026 and alleges that some American workers were required to train foreign replacements. Those claims are part of the administration's stated rationale for the new policy.
$100,000 H-1B payment extended
The White House has also extended a $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B workers outside the US. The September 18 proclamation extends the restriction introduced in 2025 for another 12 months, until September 21, 2027, unless extended again.
The requirement generally applies to H-1B petitions involving workers outside the United States, with exceptions where the Homeland Security secretary determines that the hiring is in the national interest.
The administration says the policy has already changed H-1B filing patterns. According to the White House, registrations from the largest IT staffing and outsourcing companies fell from 24,946 to 2,055, a 92% decline. Consular-processing requests also fell by nearly 97% between the FY2025 and FY2027 cap seasons.
The White House has also highlighted a shift toward higher-paid and higher-skilled H-1B applicants, with registrations for beneficiaries holding at least a US master's degree rising from 45.1% in FY2026 to 66.1% in FY2027.
Vance's latest warning signals that the administration's focus is not limited to the cost of H-1B hiring. Employers' decisions around layoffs and the treatment of US workers are now explicitly part of the federal government's scrutiny of the program.