Vice President JD Vance, the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, and the Trump Administration are suspending visa programs for foreign workers from Information Technology (IT) corporations and universities in their effort to crack down on visa fraud.
The administration is targeting giants like Microsoft and Adobe, as well as higher-education institutions like Harvard and Stanford University, for reportedly abusing the H-1 B and J-1 Visa programs.
“We cannot allow visa programs that were designed to ensure that American corporations have access to the best and brightest to be used to undercut the wages of American workers,” VP Vance said. “This is a fundamental insult to the American worker and the American way of life.”
Data Indicating Visa Program Abuses
The Trump administration’s effort comes after Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers while benefiting from 6,300 H-1 B visas and almost 3,000 Permanent Resident Cards in 2025.
VP Vance also accused universities of abusing the J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa program to employ researchers and grad students for federally funded grants, citing data showing these institutions are hiring at a rate of 61% compared to the national average of 38%.
“What we see is that when you employ an American worker as a graduate student as a researcher, they’re making about $20,000 more than someone brought in under a J-1 visa,” Vance said.
Rick Scott's Answer To The Problem
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has recently drawn attention to this issue, introducing the American Hiring Transparency Act.
The bill seeks to hold companies that abuse the foreign worker program accountable by imposing a $10,000 fee on businesses that outsource labor through the Application for Permanent Employment Certification.
The legislation also aims to close loopholes abused in the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) labor certification system – a program VP Vance also acknowledged during the announcement.
