- Representative Riley Moore is pushing the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act to freeze new visa approvals.
- The proposed legislation seeks a three-year pause on H-1B visas and a permanent reduction of the annual cap.
- The bill targets the elimination of OPT and CPT programs to prevent alleged American worker displacement.
Rep. Riley Moore is backing legislation that would pause new H-1B approvals, reduce the program’s long-term cap and eliminate several related work pathways, while he presses the administration to end OPT and CPT. He renewed that campaign in a July 15 interview with Fox News Digital.
“I think the H-1B visa program is a scam, and it’s one that has been used to displace the American worker inside their own borders,” Moore said.
The proposal would not immediately erase the program under current law. It would first impose a three-year pause on new H-1B visas and permanently reduce the annual limit, which now totals 85,000 places.
Free toolH-1B Cost Calculator OnlineUSCIS is still administering the existing system. The agency said July 17 that it had received enough petitions to fill both statutory allocations for fiscal year 2027.
“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption. for fiscal year 2027.”
August 2026 Final Action Dates
India China ROW EB-1 Oct 15, 2022 Jul 01, 2023 ▲30d Current EB-2 Unavailable Sep 01, 2021 Current EB-3 Jan 01, 2014 Jan 01, 2022 ▲10d Sep 01, 2024 ▲31d F-1 Dec 15, 2018 ▲317d Dec 15, 2018 ▲317d Dec 15, 2018 ▲317d F-2A Jul 22, 2026 ▲567d Jul 22, 2026 ▲567d Jul 22, 2026 ▲567d
Moore cosponsored H.R. 8443, the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act, in late April. Rep. Eli Crane introduced the measure.
H.R. 8443 would target the broader employment pipeline
The bill goes beyond the annual cap. Its provisions would eliminate the Optional Practical Training program, bar third-party “body shop” employment arrangements and restrict adjustment of status from H-1B employment to a green card.
That last provision could leave some long-term workers without the route they expected to use for permanent residence. Employers using outside staffing arrangements would also face a direct change in how they place foreign workers with client companies.
The proposal would also affect international students. OPT provides a route for graduates of U.S. universities to enter the workforce, and ending it could reduce international student enrollment.
Companies in the technology sector argue that the restrictions could produce a “brain drain.” They say innovation and high-paying positions could move to Canada or Europe, where employers would find more predictable visa routes.
Moore has also called for action against training programs that operate before an H-1B filing. In a letter dated April 20, he and other lawmakers urged DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to terminate OPT and Curricular Practical Training.
“Our immigration system should exist for one reason: to benefit the American people. Big corporations pushed for the OPT, STEM-OPT, and CPT programs to import foreign workers and undercut American graduates. These programs were never authorized by Congress.”
The letter described those programs as a “cheap foreign labor pipeline” that bypasses statutory visa caps. The request assigns responsibility to DHS, while H.R. 8443 would change the programs through legislation.
Moore links legal immigration to technology layoffs
Moore sharpened his argument July 11 while discussing layoffs in the technology industry. He cited Xbox as an example of companies replacing domestic talent with foreign contract labor.
He also said legal immigration was, in some sectors, “actually worse than the illegal immigration problem” because of its direct effect on white-collar wages.
The argument shifts the focus from border enforcement to the structure of the high-skilled labor market. Moore has used opposition to Big Tech and concern over wages to support an “America First” labor agenda.
His position places him within a broader Republican restrictionist push aimed at legal immigration. He also supports the Secure America Act, S. 2, which passed the House on June 9, 2026, and ties immigration enforcement funding to wider visa reforms.
USCIS continues the program under existing rules
The current cap remains divided into two categories:
| Allocation | Fiscal year 2027 limit |
|---|---|
| Regular cap | 65,000 |
| U.S. advanced degree exemption | 20,000 |
| Combined total | 85,000 |
USCIS’s July 17 announcement concerns petitions already counted under those limits. It does not enact Moore’s proposed pause, cap reduction or elimination of OPT.
The administration has taken a separate immigration action. On July 16, DHS issued a final rule rescinding the 2022 public charge regulation.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a final rule rescinding the 2022 Biden-era regulation regarding public charge determinations, further aligning immigration law with Congressional intent that aliens in the United States be self-reliant.”
That rule addresses public charge determinations rather than the H-1B system. Moore’s proposals would require congressional action for the bill’s cap, employment and adjustment-of-status provisions.
The debate now covers two groups with different legal positions. Employers would face limits on staffing models and visa access, while current workers and international graduates could lose routes into employment or permanent residence if the proposed measures become law.
USCIS has already reached the fiscal year 2027 allocations announced July 17. Moore’s legislation would impose its three-year pause and other restrictions only after Congress changes the governing law.
