D Vance: H-1B Visas Must Bring "Actual Geniuses," Not Replace American Workers

US Vice President JD Vance has defended the Trump administration’s efforts to tighten the H-1B visa programme, saying the system should be used to attract highly skilled professionals who can make a significant contribution to the American economy rather than allow companies to replace US workers with lower-paid foreign employees. Speaking on the All-In Podcast, Vance said the administration was pursuing administrative and executive measures because he believed Congress did not have the political support required for a broader legislative overhaul of the programme.

Vance said the administration wanted to ensure that companies applying for H-1B visas were bringing in workers with exceptional abilities who could contribute meaningfully to the technology sector and the wider economy. “The H-1B should not exist to replace American workers with low-wage foreigners. It should exist to enrich the American economy,” he said. He argued that the programme should focus on genuinely specialised talent rather than being used primarily as a mechanism for employers to reduce labour costs.

To illustrate his concern, Vance referred to a hypothetical situation in which a company replaces a US accountant earning $60,000 a year with a foreign worker earning $45,000. He questioned whether such an arrangement reflected the purpose of the H-1B system. He also criticised companies that claim they are unable to find workers while having recently laid off large numbers of American employees, saying businesses should not seek foreign workers to fill positions after dismissing domestic staff.

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Vance said the administration was examining ways to prevent companies that lay off American workers from using H-1B visas to replace them. He also referred to the administration’s earlier effort to impose a $100,000 payment on certain new H-1B petitions as part of a broader attempt to make employers more selective about the foreign professionals they seek to hire. The administration has argued that higher costs and stricter scrutiny could discourage misuse of the programme and encourage companies to recruit and train American workers.

The H-1B programme allows US employers to hire foreign nationals for specialised occupations, including roles in technology, engineering, finance and other professional fields. The administration’s approach has included proposals and measures relating to visa fees, wage levels and employer practices. However, the legal status of specific measures has changed over time, with some facing court challenges. The reported $100,000 fee referenced by Vance has been subject to litigation, making the precise scope and implementation of the policy dependent on ongoing legal and administrative developments.

Vance’s remarks do not amount to a proposal to abolish the H-1B programme. Instead, he outlined his view that it should prioritise highly skilled foreign professionals whose work adds value to the US economy while preventing companies from using the system to replace American employees with cheaper labour. His comments come amid the Trump administration’s broader efforts to reshape employment-based immigration and increase scrutiny of how businesses use foreign-worker visa programmes.

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