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119-hr-8443119th CongressWALLET

End H–1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Representative Crane, Elijah [R-AZ-2]

Introduced

Summary

Three-year pause on new H‑1B visas paired with a broad overhaul of the H‑1B system. The bill would remap who can work on H‑1B status and how employers recruit and pay them.

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  • Employers would face a new $100,000 "Additional H‑1B Fee" per petition and must attest to recruitment steps and that wages meet a $200,000 annual floor. It also bars third‑party staffing for H‑1B placements.
  • Prospective H‑1B workers would face much tighter supply and stay limits with a 25,000 annual cap for certain H‑1B categories and a maximum H‑1B duration cut to 3 years. The bill also ends the H‑1B lottery and replaces it with wage‑based ordering.
  • International students and many nonimmigrants would lose common pathways to U.S. work. The bill eliminates the Optional Practical Training program, restricts change of nonimmigrant status, removes most routes to adjust to permanent residence, and prevents family members from accompanying H‑1B principals.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

6 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 6 costs, 0 mixed.

Student work and OPT banned

This bill would prohibit employment authorization for F and M students and for J nonimmigrants attending educational or training institutions. In practice, Optional Practical Training (OPT) and similar student work permissions would end and employers could not hire these students for those jobs.

Higher employer fees and wage rules

This bill would make employers pay an extra $100,000 for each H‑1B petition starting in fiscal year 2026. Employers would also have to swear that no qualified U.S. workers are available, that wages and conditions will not be harmed, that they had no layoffs in the prior 12 months and will not lay off in the next 12 months, and that each H‑1B will be paid at least $200,000 per year. The bill would remove a prior statutory exemption that let some petitions avoid those rules.

Limits on changing visas and permits

This bill would bar most nonimmigrants and many aliens with temporary presence from adjusting to permanent resident status while in the U.S. It would prohibit work authorization tied to adjustment filings, rescind EADs issued under the cited regulation on enactment, and deny pending EADs with fee refunds in limited cases. The bill would also end 'dual intent' for H classifications and stop in‑country changes from one nonimmigrant class to another.

H-1B visas pause and cap

This bill would stop issuance of new H‑1B visas for 3 years after enactment. It would also cap H‑1B admissions at 25,000 per fiscal year. USCIS would run a short registration (no more than two weeks) and give many slots to the highest‑wage offers. The law would shorten the maximum H‑1B stay from 6 years to 3 years.

New limits on H-1B hiring

The bill would ban H‑1B workers from holding more than one H‑1B job at the same time. It would bar staffing and third‑party agencies from sponsoring or arranging H‑1B workers for other employers. Federal agencies and their contractors could not file H nonimmigrant petitions or employ those nonimmigrants.

No H-1B spouse and child visas

This bill would remove the rule that lets an H principal's spouse and minor children get derivative H classification. Spouses and children would no longer be eligible to accompany or join an H‑1B worker under that classification.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Crane, Elijah [R-AZ-2]

AZ • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15]

    IL • R

    Sponsored 9/24/2026

  • Rep. Biggs, Sheri [R-SC-3]

    SC • R

    Sponsored 9/24/2026

  • Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9]

    AZ • R

    Sponsored 4/22/2026

  • Rep. Hunt, Wesley [R-TX-38]

    TX • R

    Sponsored 4/22/2026

  • Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3]

    TX • R

    Sponsored 4/22/2026

  • Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5]

    TN • R

    Sponsored 4/22/2026

  • Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-5]

    CA • R

    Sponsored 4/22/2026

  • Rep. Babin, Brian [R-TX-36]

    TX • R

    Sponsored 4/22/2026

  • Rep. Gill, Brandon [R-TX-26]

    TX • R

    Sponsored 4/22/2026

  • Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1]

    AL • R

    Sponsored 4/27/2026

  • Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21]

    TX • R

    Sponsored 4/29/2026

  • Rep. Harris, Mark [R-NC-8]

    NC • R

    Sponsored 4/29/2026

  • Rep. Harshbarger, Diana [R-TN-1]

    TN • R

    Sponsored 5/11/2026

  • Rep. Moore, Riley M. [R-WV-2]

    WV • R

    Sponsored 7/14/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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