Finally, a bill to abolish OPT and cut H-1B

September 18, 2025

Senator Banks – the ONLY Senator with a 100% NumbersUSA Grade – has reintroduced his Great Immigration Solutions Bill, “The American Tech Workforce Act” to rein in the H-1B visa program infamously dubbed “one of the best con jobs ever done on the American public and political systems” and eliminate the infamous OPT program that gives employers discounts for not hiring Americans.

The American Tech Workforce Act will (if passed):

Eliminate the Optional Practical Training program.
Create a wage floor for H-1B visas set at the higher of the annual wage last paid to an American worker who filled the position or $150,000 (adjusted for inflation) – a 250% increase.
End the H-1B lottery and create a true marketplace where visas are awarded based on the highest bidder.
Limits the ability of Big Tech firms to contract with third-party companies to fill spots with H-1B recipients sponsored by the third-party companies.

Stop the scam; cut H-1Bs / end OPT

The Optional Practical Training (OPT) and H-1B programs are designed to DISPLACE Americans and EXPLOIT foreign guest workers. Prominent voices across the political spectrum have acknowledged this, from Vice President Vance and Gov. DeSantis to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wrote this in January:

“The primary purpose of H-1B and other guest worker programs is not to employ the “best and the brightest,” but instead to replace American workers with lower-paid workers from abroad who often live as indentured servants.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders

The H-1B program:

Expands the pool of young (less-expensive) workers with
Mostly basic skills; and
Displaces Americans (often experienced workers over age 35) with
Guest workers who earn less in wages and are often tied to the employers who hold their visas.

The Optional Practical Training (OPT) Program:

Gives employers a discount for not hiring American workers
Denies Americans jobs
Costs the Social Security and Medicare trust funds billions of dollars
Allows employers to undercut local prevailing wages; and
Was created to get around the H-1B cap.

Sen. Banks’ American Tech Workforce Act offers a stark alternative:

Encourage domestic recruitment channels into underserved communities.
End programs that offer financial incentives to hire foreign labor over domestic.
Reform temporary worker programs to better align with true emergency situations.
Compensate temporary foreign workers at levels commensurate with filling critical gaps in the labor market.

Take Action Now.

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