A bipartisan pair of senators has introduced a bill to curb H-1B visas, citing abuse from companies like Disney, which recently fired dozens of American tech workers after ordering them to train their foreign replacements.
Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., say the “Protecting American Jobs Act” would curb the base allocation of H-1B visas by 15,000, which they said would keep those jobs for American workers. It would also discourage companies from using the visa system to lower wages by replacing the H-1B visa lottery with a system that prioritizes the highest-wage applications.
Proponents of the H-1B visa system say the foreign workers are needed to fill vacant science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) jobs. But Nelson and Sessions say there are plenty of unemployed American STEM workers who could fill the positions.
“There is a huge surplus of talented American labor being bypassed, displaced or even forced to train their foreign replacements,” Sessions said. “The Protecting American Jobs Act will help shield American workers from these abuses and create much-needed opportunities for young, driven American students.”
Nelson said the legislation would target companies that have outsourced labor to foreign workers, often at lower pay.
Earlier this year, Disney replaced dozens of technology workers with foreign workers, mostly from India. The American Disney workers were ordered to train their replacements before leaving the company. Southern California Edison was criticized earlier this year after firing hundreds of information technology workers and outsourcing many of the jobs to two Indian companies while filling the others with new workers, including some H-1B visa holders.
