Posted on 10/01/2025 2:23:02 AM PDT by marcusmaximus
The Trump administration has launched Project Firewall, a major initiative to curb H-1B visa misuse and prioritise American workers for high-paying, skilled jobs. This move signals a shift toward stricter enforcement and could reshape opportunities for both domestic and foreign professionals.
The move comes amid rising concerns over the exploitation of the H-1B programme. According to a January 2025 report by fwd.us, the US hosts roughly 730,000 H-1B visa holders along with 550,000 dependents. Critics have long argued that some companies use the program to hire cheaper foreign talent, often at the expense of qualified American professionals.
This initiative follows a September 19, 2025, presidential order introducing a USD 100,000 fee for each new H-1B petition intended to discourage companies from bypassing domestic candidates. The Department of Labour, traditionally less involved in monitoring H-1B compliance, will now take a proactive role in auditing companies’ hiring practices, marking a significant shift in enforcement.
Project Firewall is designed to push companies to prioritise American applicants for high-skill, high-paying roles, particularly in technology and other sectors where H-1B workers are common. The Department of Labour plans to scrutinise recruitment patterns, job postings, and compliance practices more closely than ever before.
CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS
Experts caution that enforcing Project Firewall could be difficult. A 2025 USCIS analysis indicates that misuse of H-1B visas persists at scale, and some companies may find ways to circumvent new rules. Reports suggest tactics like hidden job postings or token hiring of Americans could reduce the program’s immediate effectiveness.
IMPLICATIONS FOR FOREIGN WORKERS
For current and prospective H-1B visa holders may create uncertainty. Companies might reduce sponsorships, limit hiring of foreign workers, or move some work overseas. Existing visa holders could face stricter scrutiny, delays, or job insecurity if their roles are audited.
(Excerpt) Read more at indiatoday.in ...
And the major companies that abuse the H1B visas will continue to support their congress critters, and we will be the worse for it.
When will you start contributing to FR? Don’t you feel guilty freeloading?
Correct. FR member political contributions to Congress critters are tiny compared to major corporations. Money talks in politics.
Blame dummy Modi for insisting on buying cheapo Russian oil. Trump warned him not to ally with Russia. Russia the big loser this winter, as Ukraine disables its refineries one by one. Russia repairs it, it gets drone attacked again. Same will be done to Russian Black Sea oil export terminals.
So no oil profits to pay for Vlad’s war. No diesel n gasoline for Russia’s army in Ukraine.
Its nice and all but the beauty of charging companies a nice hefty fee for H1bs is that they no longer have an incentive to bring over cheap Indian labor and cheat in all sorts of ways to get ever more. Now that such workers are no longer cheap, they will no longer be in demand.
Nothing will improve. Once the bribes clear, it’ll be business as usual.
I’ve never been comfortable with having to rely on Indian recruiters and staffing firms for my job opportunity possibilities. Not only is it frustratingly difficult to understand them over the phone, they’re WAY too loose in determining whether or not I and/or a job opportunity are a good match. Occasionally, I’m asked to provide my SS# (or the last 4 digits of it) and my DoB to initiate the next step. It’s like tits on a bull or worse.
"You can contribute any combination of monthly and/or one-time contributions to reach this goal."
Or you can be like marcus, and not contribute ANYTHING but spam, rooterspimpink and blogpimping to Free Republic!
“Hey, marcus, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.”
Send in some cash.
FREEPATHON Q4!!
“Hey, marcus, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort of maintaining Free Republic so's you got a place to spam and troll, you know.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.