US Congressman Riley Moore has alleged that H-1 B visa holders are replacing American computer science graduates, claiming employers are turning to foreign workers willing to accept lower wages.
In a post on X accompanying a snippet of his television interview, Moore called the H-1B and Optional Practical Training (OPT) programmes “SCAMS” and alleged that they undercut and replace American workers with cheaper foreign labour.
“H-1B and OPT programs are SCAMS that undercut and replace American workers with cheap foreign labor,” he wrote.
“650k Americans graduated with computer science related degrees, but they’re being replaced by the 500k H1B visa holders who are mostly from China and India,” he added.
“We had about 650,000 kids, give or take, graduate with computer science, computer programming degrees in this country last year, and then issued over half a million H-1B visas,” Moore said during a television interview with Scott Jennings on The Scott Jennings Show, broadcast on the Salem News Channel (SNC).
{{/usCountry}}“We had about 650,000 kids, give or take, graduate with computer science, computer programming degrees in this country last year, and then issued over half a million H-1B visas,” Moore said during a television interview with Scott Jennings on The Scott Jennings Show, broadcast on the Salem News Channel (SNC).
{{/usCountry}}“I mean, it's crazy. And at the end of the day, they're willing to do these jobs at a lower rate, cheaper labor, and so all of our kids are getting replaced in this,” he alleged.
Moore criticised the H-1B visa programme, arguing that it was not working as intended and was instead bringing in cheaper labour.
“Sold on H-1B visa program is that we're going to bring the best and the brightest talent in the United States to fill these jobs that we're not able to fill. That is not how this has worked at all,” he said.
“What it is, is importing cheap labor that is undercutting a lot of our young college graduates who are coming out of school with accounting degrees and other types of degrees, computer science, things like that, that are ready to enter the workforce.”
The congressman also claimed that H-1B visa holders bring family members to the US, linking the programme to what he described as chain migration.
“And the typical H-1B visa holder, by the way, brings 10 individuals of their family with them. So you have this whole chain migration thing that goes with it,” he said.
Also Read: H-1B visa update: Why Indian workers could face fresh checks despite previous approvals
H-1B holders to face tougher scrutiny?
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a regulatory change that could affect how applications to extend temporary work visas, including H-1B and L-1 visas, are reviewed, raising concerns among Indian immigrants, HT reported earlier.
The proposed rule would allow immigration officers to reconsider eligibility even when a previous application had been approved under the same circumstances. The proposal has not yet been implemented, and DHS is seeking feedback on the “entirety of this proposed rulemaking package.”
The proposal seeks to eliminate a provision under 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5), which requires US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to give “deference to a prior approval” when reviewing extension requests involving the same circumstances.
Explaining the existing policy, the department said: “When adjudicating a request filed on Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) involving the same parties and the same underlying facts, USCIS gives deference to its prior determination of the petitioner’s, applicant’s, or beneficiary’s eligibility.”
The provision typically applies when an employer files a petition to extend or renew a foreign worker’s authorisation to work or stay in the US under the same non-immigrant visa category that was previously approved.
Indian nationals accounted for roughly 70% of all H-1B beneficiaries in fiscal year 2025, according to USCIS data.