Big U.S. companies are facing intensified scrutiny from Capitol Hill over their reliance on foreign employees hired under the H-1B visa program. Lawmakers are questioning whether this practice is worsening job losses and weakening prospects for American workers.
On Wednesday evening, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) sent letters to some of the largest users of H-1B visas—including Amazon, Apple, and JPMorgan Chase. The senators requested detailed disclosures by October 10, seeking clarity on:
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The total number of H-1B employees currently employed,
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Wages paid to them compared with U.S. employees, and
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Whether any American workers were displaced as a result.
The move follows Wall Street Journal reporting on a sluggish U.S. tech job market, which has been hit by widespread layoffs despite strong hiring of H-1B workers by leading firms.
Grassley and Durbin emphasized that companies must justify why they are “continuing to employ thousands of H-1B visa holders while laying off American workers.” Their intervention signals growing bipartisan concern in Washington over how the visa program is being used, amid broader debates on labor, immigration, and economic policy.
