H-1B programme ‘completely broken’, says JD Vance; backs its abolition

US Vice President JD Vance has called the H-1B visa programme “completely broken” and said he would support abolishing it, arguing that companies use the system to replace American workers with cheaper foreign employees.

In a video posted on X, Vance said the programme had been “totally taken advantage of” by technology companies, accounting firms and businesses in other sectors. He said there was a difference between hiring highly skilled foreign professionals and using H-1B visas to reduce labour costs.

“If you're going to bring in an accountant making $45,000 a year to replace an accountant who is an American making $60,000 a year, that's not you using the programme to bring in a genius,” Vance said. “That's you destroying American jobs and defrauding the American people,” he said.


Vance also defended the White House’s USD 100,000 fee on certain H-1B petitions. The fee was introduced in September 2025 for eligible applications involving workers outside the US. The administration extended the policy in September 2026 until September 21, 2027, with limited exemptions for cases considered important to national interests.

“If you're just trying to replace an American accountant with a cheaper foreign accountant, then you're not going to pay $100,000,” Vance said.

The administration has said the fee is intended to discourage companies from using H-1B visas for low-cost labour and encourage recruitment for highly skilled and better-paid positions.

US administration plans wider H-1B scrutiny

Vance’s comments come as the administration pursues several changes to the H-1B programme.

An executive directive issued on September 18 instructed the Departments of State, Labour and Homeland Security to examine whether sponsoring companies had recently carried out, or planned to carry out, layoffs involving similar American workers.

The directive also asked the Labour Department to review previously filed labour-condition applications for possible violations. The administration has separately introduced a tiered selection system that gives preference to higher-paid jobs.

Vance suggested that these measures may not address what he described as deeper problems in the programme.

“My view is the H-1B programme is completely broken, and I'd be very supportive of just eliminating it,” he said. “But while we have it, what we have to do is protect American workers.”

Court challenges to USD 100,000 fee

The USD 100,000 H-1B fee is facing continuing legal challenges.

On October 1, a federal magistrate blocked the fee after finding that the administration had not followed mandatory administrative rulemaking procedures. The order came after an earlier court injunction against the fee earlier this year.