Two Republican congressmen have called for the H-1B visa programme to be abolished entirely, days after the Trump administration finalised a rule ending automatic extensions of work permits for thousands of foreign workers and their spouses. The legislative push signals a hardening of sentiment on Capitol Hill against high-skilled immigration pathways that directly affect hundreds of thousands of Indian and Chinese workers in the United States.

The DHS Rule That Triggered the Calls

The rule was published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Federal Register on 14 October 2026 and took effect the same day. It finalises an interim rule originally issued on 30 October 2025, which ended the automatic extension of Employment Authorisation Documents (EADs) for applicants who had filed timely renewal requests in certain categories.

Previously, a timely renewal application could keep a work permit valid for up to 540 days while it remained pending. DHS said ending the extensions 'enhances benefit integrity and prioritises the proper vetting and screening of aliens before granting a new period of employment authorisation.'

Commenters on the rule had warned that H-4 spouses of H-1B workers could face 'unavoidable work gaps'. DHS acknowledged that affected dependents 'may experience temporary lapses in employment authorisation' — a concession that stopped short of reversing the policy.

What Republican Lawmakers Are Demanding

Congressman Greg Steube of Florida responded to news of the final rule on X on 17 October 2026, writing: 'Amazing news! Now end the H-1B program entirely.' He followed with: 'Pass my EXILE Act and put American workers first.'

Steube is the sponsor of H.R. 7451, the Ending Exploitative Imported Labour Exemptions Act (EXILE Act), which would set the annual H-1B cap at zero from fiscal year 2027. Steube introduced the bill on 9 February; it was referred to the House Judiciary Committee the same day and has recorded no further action or votes.

A day before Steube's post, Congressman Riley Moore of West Virginia wrote: 'H-1B and OPT programs are SCAMS that undercut and replace American workers with cheap foreign labour.' Moore added: '650,000 Americans graduated with computer science-related degrees, but they're being replaced by the 500,000 H-1B visa holders who are mostly from China and India.' Moore cited the figures himself, and they have not been independently verified.

The Democratic Counter-Push

The Republican calls stand in stark contrast to a concurrent push from across the aisle. Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey has renewed his call to lift per-country caps on employment-based green cards, citing a projected 179-year wait for Indian applicants.

That figure comes from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), an Arlington, Virginia-based research group, which also estimates that Indians make up 79% of people waiting in the first three employment-based green card categories. The divergence between the two camps underscores how fractured US immigration policy has become, with high-skilled visas now contested from both ends of the spectrum.

What This Means for Indian Workers

India is the single largest source of H-1B visa holders, with Indian nationals dominating both current H-1B approvals and the backlogged green card queue. The end of the 540-day automatic EAD extension creates immediate uncertainty for H-4 spouses — a group estimated in the hundreds of thousands — who could face gaps in legal work authorisation while renewals are processed.

Notably, the EXILE Act's zero-cap proposal remains far from passage, with no co-sponsors or committee action recorded. However, the DHS rule change is already in force, and its real-world impact on Indian-origin professionals and their families is expected to begin materialising in the coming months.