End H–1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5097 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5097

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for a pause on
 the issuance of H-1B visas until certain limitations on the issuance
                        thereof are implemented.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2026

Mr. Sheehy (for himself and Mr. Moreno) introduced the following bill;
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for a pause on
 the issuance of H-1B visas until certain limitations on the issuance
                        thereof are implemented.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. SUSPENDING THE ISSUANCE OF H-1B VISAS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no alien may be issued
a nonimmigrant visa described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(B)) until
the date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. RESTRICTING H NONIMMIGRANT VISAS TO PRIMARY WORKERS.

    Section 101(a)(15)(H) is amended by striking ``; and the alien
spouse and minor children of any such alien specified in this paragraph
if accompanying him or following to join him''.

SEC. 4. NECESSARY REFORMS TO H-1B VISA REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Wage Floor and Recruitment Requirements.--Section 212(n) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in clause (i)(II), by striking ``and''
                        at the end;
                            (ii) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause
                        (vi); and
                            (iii) by inserting after clause (i) the
                        following:
                            ``(ii) attests that there are not
                        sufficient workers who are able, willing,
                        qualified, and available at the time of
                        application for a nonimmigrant visa and
                        admission to the United States at the place
                        where an alien is needed to perform such labor;
                            ``(iii) attests that the employment of such
                        alien will not adversely affect the wages or
                        working conditions of workers in the United
                        States who are similarly employed;
                            ``(iv) has not laid off any workers during
                        the most recent 12-month period and will not
                        lay off any workers during the 12-month period
                        immediately following the submission of the
                        application;
                            ``(v) is offering to pay each alien granted
                        nonimmigrant status described in section
                        101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) wages at a rate that is not
                        less than $200,000 per year; and''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by striking ``An
                application is not described in this clause if the only
                H-1B nonimmigrants sought in the application are exempt
                H-1B nonimmigrants.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking ``a nonexempt'' and
        inserting ``an''; and
            (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
    ``(3) In this subsection, the term `H-1B-dependent employer' means
an employer that--
            ``(A)(i) has 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees who
        are employed in the United States; and
            ``(ii) employs more than 7 H-1B nonimmigrants;
            ``(B)(i) has at least 26, but not more than 50, full-time
        equivalent employees who are employed in the United States; and
            ``(ii) employs more than 12 H-1B nonimmigrants; or
            ``(C)(i) has at least 51 full-time equivalent employees who
        are employed in the United States; and
            ``(ii) employs H-1B nonimmigrants in a number that is equal
        to at least 15 percent of the number of such full-time
        equivalent employees.''.
    (b) Ending Dual Intent.--Section 214(b) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) is amended by striking ``, and other
than a nonimmigrant described in any provision of section
101(a)(15)(H)(i) except subclause (b1) of such section)''.
    (c) Tariff on the Importation of Labor.--Section 214(c) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (10), (11), (12), (13), and
        (14) as paragraphs (11), (12), (13), (14), and (15),
        respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
            ``(10) Additional h-1b fee.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
                provision of law, during fiscal year 2026 and during
                each fiscal year thereafter, a fee of $100,000 shall be
                imposed on each employer filing a petition under
                paragraph (1)--
                            ``(i) to grant an alien nonimmigrant status
                        described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b); or
                            ``(ii) to obtain authorization for an alien
                        previously granted such status to change
                        employers.
                    ``(B) Deposit of fees.--Fees collected under this
                paragraph shall be deposited in the Treasury in
                accordance with section 286(s).''; and
            (3) by moving paragraph (11), as redesignated, 2 ems to the
        left.
    (d) Numerical Limitations and Visa Duration.--Section 214(g) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by amending subparagraph (A) to read
        as follows:
            ``(A) under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), may not exceed
        25,000 in any fiscal year; and'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ``may not exceed 6
        years'' and inserting ``may not exceed 3 years'';
            (3) by striking paragraph (5);
            (4) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) as
        paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively; and
            (5) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by striking ``other
        than one described in paragraph (5)''.
    (e) Eliminating the H-1B Lottery.--Section 214(g)(3) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(3)) is amended to
read as follows:
    ``(3)(A) Aliens who are subject to the numerical limits under
paragraph (1)(A) shall be issued visas in order of the highest wage
levels being offered by the petitioning employers, following a
registration period that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
shall hold open for not more than 2 weeks during each fiscal year.
    ``(B) Aliens who are subject to the numerical limitations under
paragraph (1)(B) shall be issued visas (or otherwise provided
nonimmigrant status) in the order in which petitions are filed for such
visas or status.''.
    (f) Prohibiting Concurrent and Third-Party Employment.--Section
214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(12) Prohibition on concurrent employment.--Any alien
        admitted or otherwise provided status under section
        101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) may not be employed by more than 1 employer
        at any time. The approval of a subsequent petition for a
        nonimmigrant described in such section shall automatically
        terminate the validity of any previously approved petition for
        such alien unless the subsequent petition is specifically
        designated as a change of employer and not as additional
        employment.
            ``(13) Prohibition on third-party employment.--A third-
        party employment or staffing agency may not--
                    ``(A) file a petition to sponsor a nonimmigrant
                described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b); or
                    ``(B) facilitate the recruitment or employment of a
                nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)
                on behalf of another employer.''.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITING FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT OF NONIMMIGRANT VISA HOLDERS.

    (a) Barring Federal Petitions.--Section 214(c) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act, as amended by section 4(c), is further amended by
adding at the end the following:
            ``(16) No agency, department, or instrumentality of the
        Federal Government may file a petition for a nonimmigrant
        described in section 101(a)(15).''.
    (b) Barring Federal Employment.--Section 274A(h) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Prohibition on federal employment of nonimmigrants.--
        No agency, department, or instrument of the Federal Government
        may employ, either directly or through a contract, a
        nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15).''.

SEC. 6. ELIMINATING THE OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING PROGRAM.

    Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by
sections 4 and 5, is further amended by adding at the end the
following:
    ``(s) Prohibition on Employment Authorization for Foreign
Students.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
            ``(1) no alien present in the United States as a
        nonimmigrant under subparagraph (F) or (M) of section
        101(a)(15) may be provided employment authorization in the
        United States; and
            ``(2) no alien present in the United States under section
        101(a)(15)(J), who was admitted for the purpose of attending an
        educational or training institution, may be provided employment
        authorization in the United States.''.

SEC. 7. PROHIBITING ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.

    Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255)
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 245. LIMITATIONS ON ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR NONIMMIGRANTS AND
              PAROLEES.

    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c),
nonimmigrants described in section 101(a)(15), aliens who have been
granted temporary parole pursuant to section 212(d)(5), and any other
aliens with temporary authorized presence in the United States are
ineligible to adjust their status to that of a person admitted for
permanent residence while residing in the United States.
    ``(b) Employment Authorization.--
            ``(1) In general.--Aliens described in subsection (a) are
        not authorized to engage in employment in the United States on
        the basis of submitting an application for adjustment of
        status.
            ``(2) Rescission of prior employment authorization.--All
        employment authorizations granted to aliens pursuant to section
        274a.12(c)(9) of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be
        immediately rescinded and all employment authorization
        documents issued to such alien applicants for adjustment of
        status are invalid beginning on the date of enactment of the
        End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026.
            ``(3) Pending applications.--Aliens with pending
        applications for employment authorization documents under such
        section 274a.12(c)(9) shall have their applications denied and
        shall be refunded any fees paid in association with such
        applications.
    ``(c) Aliens Eligible To Adjust Status.--An alien is eligible for
an adjustment of status to that of a person admitted for permanent
residence if--
            ``(1) such alien is otherwise eligible to receive an
        immigrant visa;
            ``(2) an immigrant visa is available for such alien under
        chapter 1; and
            ``(3) the alien--
                    ``(A) filed a petition for adjustment of status
                before the date of the enactment of the End H-1B Visa
                Abuse Act of 2026 and such petition is adjudicated not
                later than 1 year after such date of enactment;
                    ``(B) is a refugee;
                    ``(C) applied for asylum before the date of the
                enactment of the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026 and
                such application is adjudicated not later than 1 year
                after such date of enactment; or
                    ``(D) has been granted conditional permanent
                resident status pursuant to section 216.''.

SEC. 8. PROHIBITING CHANGE OF STATUS.

    Section 248 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1258)
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 248. CHANGE OF NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATION.

    ``The Secretary of Homeland Security may not authorize a change
from any nonimmigrant classification to any other nonimmigrant
classification.''.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
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