- Thursday, May 22, 2025
MAGA activists want the Trump administration to abolish H-1B visas as they claim it is taking away jobs held by Americans
By: India Weekly
AFTER the Donald Trump administration imposed visa restrictions on Indian travel agents accused of smuggling migrants into the US, his supporters now want a similar crackdowns on legal migrations.
Trump ally and Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporter Laura Loomer turned the spotlight on H-1B visas and called for their abolition.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire skilled immigrants from other countries.
Indian engineers, data scientists, and software developers make up the largest share of H-1B recipients each year.
As per the recently published data by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS), 120,141 H-1B visas have been granted so far for the fiscal year 2026.
This is the lowest since 2021, with the number of people applying for these visas down over 25 per cent.
This was partly because the Biden administration had raised the fees for filing an H-1B registration for FY 2026 from $10 to $215, and the USCIS has revised rules to ensure that each worker has an equal chance of selection, regardless of how many times different employers submit applications on their behalf.
But MAGA activists are not impressed, as they claim it is still way above the annual limit for H-1B visas.
The annual limit for H-1B visas is 65,000, plus a 20,000 exemption for individuals with an advanced degree from a US university.
But the fact that over 120,000 visas have been selected for the next fiscal has sparked concerns that the companies intend to fire American employees to accommodate H-1B visa holders.
Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon has sharply criticized the Trump administration’s recent approval of H-1B visas for 2026, calling the move “outrageous” at a time when tech workers in the US are facing mass layoffs.
He argued that the number of H-1B visas required this year should be “zero” and wants every foreign worker who received one should be sent home.
The US on Monday (19) said that it is imposing visa restrictions on owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies in India for knowingly facilitating “illegal immigration” to the United States.
When asked about the travel agencies and people against whom visa restrictions have been effected, a US embassy official in New Delhi refused to provide any details.
