[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8443 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8443
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for a pause on
the issuance of H-1B visas until certain limitations on the issuance
thereof are implemented.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 22, 2026
Mr. Crane (for himself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Hunt, Mr. Self, Mr. Ogles, Mr.
McClintock, Mr. Babin, and Mr. Gill of Texas) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for a pause on
the issuance of H-1B visas until certain limitations on the issuance
thereof are implemented.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. PAUSING THE ISSUANCE OF H-1B VISAS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no alien may be issued
a nonimmigrant visa described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(B)) until
the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. NECESSARY REFORMS OF THE H-1B VISA.
(a) Ending Dual Intent.--Section 214(b) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) is amended by striking ``, and other
than a nonimmigrant described in any provision of section
101(a)(15)(H)(i) except subclause (b1) of such section)''.
(b) Numerical Limitations and Visa Duration.--Section 214(g) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by amending subparagraph (A) to read
as follows:
``(A) under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) may not
exceed 25,000 in any fiscal year; and'';
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ``may not exceed 6
years'' and inserting ``may not exceed 3 years''; and
(3) by striking paragraph (5) and redesignating paragraphs
(6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7).
(c) Trump Fee.--Section 214(c) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (10), (11), (12), and (13)
as paragraphs (11), (12), (13), and (14) respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
``(10) Additional h-1b fee.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal
year thereafter, a fee of $100,000 shall be imposed on
each employer filing a petition under paragraph (1)--
``(i) to grant an alien nonimmigrant status
described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b); and
``(ii) to obtain authorization for an alien
having such status to change employers.
``(B) Deposit of fees.--Fees collected under this
paragraph shall be deposited in the Treasury in
accordance with section 286(s).''.
(d) Wage Floor and Recruitment Requirements.--Section 212(n) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A)--
(A) by striking ``; and'' at the end of clause
(i)(II) and inserting ``;'';
(B) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (vi);
and
(C) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
``(ii) attests that there are not
sufficient workers who are able, willing,
qualified, and available at the time of
application for a nonimmigrant visa and
admission to the United States and at the place
where the alien is to perform such labor;
``(iii) attests that the employment of such
alien will not adversely affect the wages and
working conditions of workers in the United
States similarly employed;
``(iv) has not laid off any workers in the
previous 12 months and will not lay off any
workers in the following 12 months;
``(v) is offering to pay each alien granted
nonimmigrant status described in section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) wages at a rate that is not
less than $200,000 per year; and'';
(2) in paragraph (1)(E)(ii), by striking ``An application
is not described in this clause if the only H-1B nonimmigrants
sought in the application are exempt H-1B nonimmigrants.'';
(3) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking ``a nonexempt'' and
inserting ``an''; and
(4) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraphs (B) and
(C).
(e) Eliminating the H-1B Lottery.--Section 214(g)(3) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(3)) is amended to
read as follows:
``(3)(A) Aliens who are subject to the numerical limits in
paragraph (1)(A) shall be issued visas in order of the highest
wage levels being offered by the petitioning employers,
following a registration period that U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services shall hold open for no more than two weeks
each year.
``(B) Aliens who are subject to the numerical
limitations of paragraph (1)(B) shall be issued visas
(or otherwise provided nonimmigrant status) in the
order in which petitions are filed for such visas or
status.''.
(f) Prohibiting Concurrent and Third-Party Employment.--Section
214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(12) Prohibition on concurrent employment.--An alien
admitted or otherwise provided status under section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) may not be employed by more than one
employer at a particular time. The approval of a subsequent
petition for a nonimmigrant described in such section shall
automatically terminate the validity of any previously approved
petition for that same alien, unless the subsequent petition is
specifically designated as a change of employer and not as
additional employment.
``(13) Prohibition on third-party employment.--A third-
party employment or staffing agency may not--
``(A) file a petition to sponsor a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b); or
``(B) facilitate the recruitment or employment of a
nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)
on behalf of another employer.''.
SEC. 4. RESTRICTING H NONIMMIGRANTS TO PRIMARY WORKERS.
Section 101(a)(15)(H) is amended by striking ``; and the alien
spouse and minor children of any such alien specified in this paragraph
if accompanying him or following to join him''.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITING FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT OF NONIMMIGRANT VISA HOLDERS.
(a) Barring Federal Petitions.--Section 214(c) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(15) No agency, department, or instrumentality of the
Federal Government may file a petition for a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15).''.
(b) Barring Federal Employment.--Section 274A(h) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(4) Prohibition on federal employment of nonimmigrants.--
No agency, department, or instrument of the Federal Government
may employ, either directly or through a contract, a
nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15).''.
SEC. 6. ELIMINATING THE OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING PROGRAM.
Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(s) Prohibition on Employment Authorization for Foreign
Students.--
``(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no alien
present in the United States as a nonimmigrant under section
101(a)(15)(F) or section 101(a)(15)(M) may be provided
employment authorization in the United States.
``(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no alien
present in the United States under section 101(a)(15)(J), who
was admitted for the purpose of attending an educational or
training institution, may be provided employment authorization
in the United States.''.
SEC. 7. PROHIBITING ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.
Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255)
is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 245. LIMITATION ON STATUS FOR NONIMMIGRANTS.
``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c),
nonimmigrants described in section 101(a)(15), aliens who have been
granted temporary parole pursuant to section 212(d)(5), and any other
aliens with temporary authorized presence in the United States are
ineligible to adjust their status to that of a person admitted for
permanent residence while residing in the United States.
``(b) Employment Authorization.--
``(1) In general.--An alien described in subsection (a) is
not authorized to engage in employment in the United States on
the basis of submitting an application for adjustment of
status.
``(2) Rescission of prior employment authorization.--All
employment authorizations granted to aliens pursuant to section
274a.12(c)(9) of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be
immediately rescinded and all employment authorization
documents issued to such alien applicants for adjustment of
status are invalid beginning on the date of enactment of this
Act.
``(3) Pending applications.--Aliens with pending
applications for employment authorization documents under such
section 274a.12(c)(9) shall have their applications denied and
shall be refunded any fees paid in association with such
applications.
``(c) Aliens Eligible To Adjust Status.--An alien is eligible for
an adjustment of status to that of a person admitted for permanent
residence if--
``(1) such alien is otherwise eligible to receive an
immigrant visa;
``(2) an immigrant visa is available for such alien under
chapter 1; and
``(3) the alien--
``(A) filed a petition for adjustment of status
before the date of the enactment of this section and
such petition is adjudicated not later than 1 year
after such date of enactment;
``(B) is a refugee;
``(C) applied for asylum before the date of the
enactment of this section and such application is
adjudicated not later than 1 year after such date of
enactment; or
``(D) has been granted conditional permanent
resident status pursuant to section 216.''.
SEC. 8. PROHIBITING CHANGE OF STATUS.
Section 248 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1258)
is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 248. CHANGE OF NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATION.
``The Secretary of Homeland Security may not authorize a change
from any nonimmigrant classification to any other nonimmigrant
classification.''.
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of
enactment.
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