The US is grappling with an immigration crisis, with the Trump administration implementing measures to deport undocumented individuals and opposing job abuse in the legal immigration system. The US has urged employers to stop contributing to the immigration crisis or abusing the legal immigration system through illegal preferences against American workers.

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Acting Chair Andrea Lucas announced – The EEOC is putting employers and other covered entities on notice: if you are part of the pipeline contributing to our immigration crisis or abusing our legal immigration system via illegal preferences against American workers, you must stop. The law applies to you, and you are not above the law. The EEOC is here to protect all workers from unlawful national origin discrimination, including American workers.”

One such legal pathway for foreign workers to land a job in America is the H-1B visa. The crux of the issue is that Americans believe foreigners are snatching their jobs through the H-1B visa pathway. According to the American Immigration Council, Research shows that H-1B workers complement U.S. workers, fill employment gaps in many STEM occupations, and expand job opportunities for all.

The H-1B visa category is temporary (nonimmigrant) and allows companies to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in “specialty occupations” requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent. Jobs in mathematics, engineering, technology, and medical sciences are frequently qualified. An H-1B visa is typically valid for three years, although it can be extended for up to six years in total.

The available data with American Immigration Council also indicate that H-1B workers do not earn low wages or drag down the wages of other workers. In 2021, the median wage of an H-1B worker was $108,000, compared to $45,760 for U.S. workers in general. Moreover, between 2003 and 2021, the median wage of H-1B workers grew by 52 percent. During the same period, the median wage of all U.S. workers increased by 39 percent.

USCIS has been taking measures to stop the abuse of H-1B visas. USCIS indicators for H-1B abuse include wage disparities existing between H-1B workers and other workers performing the same or similar activities, notably to the prejudice of US workers, or if the H-1B worker has less experience than US workers in similar positions in the same organization.

Also, in order to prevent abuse of the H-1B registration process, USCIS had implemented a beneficiary-centric selection process under which each beneficiary must only be registered under one passport or travel document. Only those with selected registrations are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

The EEOC aims to curb illegal migration and legal immigration abuse by enhancing employment antidiscrimination laws against employers and staffing agencies that illegally favor non-American workers.

Illegal discrimination against American workers is a widespread issue in many different industries across the country. The federal employment law, which forbids discrimination based on national origin, is directly violated by the policies and practices of many businesses who favor migrant workers, illegal aliens, visa holders, and other legal immigrants over American workers.

Although Title VII’s national origin nondiscrimination requirement generally means that employers cannot prefer American workers, it equally means that employers cannot prefer non-American workers and disfavor Americans.