A senior US senator has raised fresh concerns over potential misuse of the H-1B visa programme, warning that major American technology companies are laying off domestic workers even as they continue recruiting thousands of foreign professionals — many of them Indian engineers who form the backbone of the programme.

In a strongly worded letter to Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, Senator Ruben Gallego urged the Trump administration to intensify oversight of H-1B hiring practices. He argued that high-skilled immigration must support American innovation without becoming a mechanism to “undercut or replace US employees.”

Gallego cited internal research and federal data showing that while large technology firms have laid off “hundreds of thousands of workers” over the past two years, those same companies were approved to hire more than 30,000 H-1B workers in fiscal year 2025. This disconnect, he wrote, raises “important questions” about whether companies are using the programme as intended.

“High-skilled immigration programs, when designed, implemented, and enforced appropriately, spur economic growth that creates good-paying jobs for American workers,” Gallego said. “At the same time, we must ensure such programs are not used to undercut or replace US employees, especially as the American dream continues to grow further out of reach for young people.”

Gallego highlighted a steep decline in the presence of young workers at major US tech firms, pointing out that employees aged 21–25 dropped from 15% of the workforce in January 2023 to just 6.7% by July 2025. At the same time, unemployment among recent graduates and inexperienced jobseekers remains high — the largest share since 1988. These trends, he said, show there are “young American workers eager to be trained for and fill these roles.”

The senator also drew attention to the broader financial pressures on Gen Z. With average student debt above $30,000, home prices up 55.7% since 2020, and childcare costs now exceeding rent in 17 states — and surpassing in-state college tuition in 38 — many young Americans face widening barriers to economic stability. In this context, Gallego warned, corporate dependence on temporary foreign workers may further disadvantage American jobseekers.

Reiterating the core purpose of the H-1B system, Gallego wrote: “The intent of the H-1B visa program is to grow the economy and supplement the US workforce — not replace it.” He asked the administration for clarity on how it will enforce Project Firewall, a new multi-agency initiative launched in September to strengthen scrutiny of visa recruitment practices.

Among his questions were how many new investigations the government plans to pursue, whether companies that recently laid off US workers will face heightened oversight, and how agencies will ensure compliance with rules requiring employers to first consider qualified American applicants.

Gallego also raised concerns about a new requirement for the Labour Secretary to personally certify the initiation of H-1B investigations, asking whether the process could create additional bureaucracy, slow enforcement, or invite improper influence.

The issue carries significant implications for India, whose nationals represent the largest share of H-1B recipients, especially in the technology sector. Any tightening of oversight or shifts in employer hiring strategies could directly impact Indian engineers, STEM graduates, and IT professionals seeking opportunities in the United States.

With India-US tech cooperation heavily reliant on high-skilled mobility, evolving H-1B regulations remain closely watched in New Delhi and across India’s export-driven IT industry.