H-1B workers from India, China take US jobs with cheaper labour, says Congressman Riley Moore

US Congressman Riley Moore alleged that H-1B visa holders and foreign students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) are taking jobs away from American graduates by accepting lower wages. He called both programmes “SCAMS”, claiming they bring cheaper foreign labour into the US workforce.

In a post on X, Moore cited figures of around 650,000 American graduates with computer science-related degrees and 500,000 H-1B visa holders to argue that US graduates are losing out on jobs.

Moore also said “Most H-1B visa holders were from India and China.”


“We had about 650,000 kids, give or take, graduate with computer science, computer programming degrees in this country last year, and then issued over half a million H-1B visas,” he said during an interview with Scott Jennings on The Scott Jennings Show, which was broadcasted on the Salem News Channel.

He alleged that employers were choosing foreign workers because they were willing to work for lower pay. “And at the end of the day, they're willing to do these jobs at a lower rate, cheaper labor, and so all of our kids are getting replaced in this,” Moore said.

Moore questions H-1B visa programme

Moore argued that the H-1B programme was intended to bring skilled foreign workers into the US to fill jobs that employers could not fill locally. However, he claimed that the programme was not serving that purpose.

“What it is, is importing cheap labor that is undercutting a lot of our young college graduates who are coming out of school with accounting degrees and other types of degrees, computer science, things like that, that are ready to enter the workforce,” he said.

Also Read: US PERM Freeze: Indian H-1B workers could lose crucial time to secure Green Cards as sponsorships stall

He also claimed that H-1B visa holders bring family members to the US, linking the programme to what he described as chain migration.

“And the typical H-1B visa holder, by the way, brings 10 individuals of their family with them. So you have this whole chain migration thing that goes with it,” he said.

Proposed US rule could affect H-1B extensions

Separately, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a rule that could change how officials review applications to extend temporary work visas, including H-1B and L-1 visas.

Also Read: US proposes ending deference policy for H-1B extensions; Indian workers may face closer scrutiny

The proposal seeks to remove a provision requiring US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to give deference to an earlier approval when an extension application involves the same parties and underlying facts.

Under the existing provision, USCIS generally relies on its earlier eligibility decision when reviewing a request to extend a non-immigrant worker's stay or employment authorisation under the same circumstances.

The proposed change has not yet been implemented. DHS is seeking feedback on the proposal.