End the H-1B Program: A Return to Global Norms

The H-1B visa program has existed for 35 years. In that time, it transformed from a narrow pathway for specialized workers into a mass labor pipeline that now processes 400,000 petitions annually-with 71% going to workers from a single country.

This isn't an argument against the people who came. Many worked hard and improved their lives. But the program itself has failed American workers, inflated housing costs in major cities, and created expectations of permanent settlement that were never part of the original design.

It's time to end it. Not as punishment-but as a return to how every other developed nation handles temporary foreign labor.

The Numbers

H-1B Approvals by Country (FY 2024)

Two countries account for 83% of all H-1B visas. The remaining 17% is split among every other nation on Earth.

This isn't a skills-based immigration program. It's a pipeline from two specific countries to American corporations seeking cheaper labor.

What Went Wrong

1. "Temporary" Became Permanent

The H-1B was designed as a temporary work visa-3 years, renewable once to 6 years maximum. After that, workers were supposed to return home.

Instead, the program evolved into an informal path to permanent residency:

• H-1B holders file for green cards while on their visa
• Processing backlogs mean they stay for decades
• Families put down roots, buy homes, have American-born children
• Returning home becomes unthinkable

This was never the intent. No other developed country operates this way.

2. Corporations Won, Workers Lost

The H-1B program shifted bargaining power from American workers to employers:

For corporations:

• Access to a global labor pool willing to accept lower wages
• Workers tied to employer sponsorship can't easily quit or negotiate
• Reduced need to train American workers or raise wages

For American workers:

• Wage suppression in tech and white-collar fields
• Reduced hiring of American graduates
• Companies that can pay "whatever they want" because H-1B workers have no leverage

3. Housing Markets Crushed

H-1B workers concentrate in America's most expensive cities:

These are also America's most unaffordable housing markets. The connection isn't coincidental.

H-1B workers:

• Earn tech salaries in high-cost cities
• Can legally purchase homes
• Compete with Americans for limited housing stock
• Drive up prices in already strained markets

Adding hundreds of thousands of workers to the Bay Area, Seattle, and New York each year doesn't just affect the labor market-it makes housing unaffordable for everyone.

The Global Perspective

Here's what Americans need to understand: temporary stays abroad are normal. The expectation of permanent settlement is the anomaly.

How Other Countries Handle Temporary Workers

Japan:

• 10 years of continuous residence required for permanent residency
• Most temporary workers never qualify
• Marriage to a Japanese citizen is one of the few reliable paths

South Korea:

• More than half of foreign nationals hold temporary visas with limited renewals
• Permanent settlement prospects described as "dim"
• Marriage is primary path to long-term stay

Gulf States (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar):

• Millions of foreign workers, virtually zero permanent residency
• Workers stay for years, decades even-then go home
• This is accepted as completely normal

Europe:

• Strict limits on converting work visas to permanent status
• Most temporary workers return home when contracts end
• Points-based systems for the few who qualify for settlement

The American Exception

The U.S. is the only major country that:

• Allows "temporary" workers to stay indefinitely while waiting for green cards
• Treats a temporary work visa as an informal immigration pathway
• Accepts that workers will never return home

Millions of Americans work abroad in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East with zero expectation of permanent residency. This isn't seen as hostile or unfair-it's simply how sovereign nations manage their borders.

Why should America be different?

The Asymmetry Problem

This connects to a fundamental issue with large-population immigration (see: The Big Country Problem).

India has 1.45 billion people. Even if only a small percentage have mid-level tech skills, that's tens of millions of potential H-1B applicants. The supply is effectively unlimited.

When programs like H-1B create a pipeline between:

• A country with 1.45 billion people, and
• A country with 335 million people

The result is predictable: an endless flow in one direction.

India produces more IT and engineering graduates each year than America has total tech workers. No temporary worker program can handle that kind of numerical imbalance-which is why it shouldn't try.

The Proposal: Wind Down, Don't Punish

Ending H-1B doesn't mean mass deportations or broken promises. It means a rational wind-down that treats the U.S. like every other developed nation:

Phase 1: End New H-1B Issuances

• No new H-1B visas after 2026
• Existing visa holders can complete their current terms
• No renewals beyond current authorization

Phase 2: Transition Rules Based on Time in U.S.

Phase 3: Replace with Truly Limited Program

• Maximum 20,000 visas per year (down from 400,000)
• Only for genuinely irreplaceable expertise
• No path to permanent residency-temporary means temporary
• Strict per-country caps to prevent pipeline domination

This is exactly how Japan, Korea, and most of Europe handle temporary workers. It's not radical-it's normal.

This Isn't About the People

Nothing in this proposal condemns the individuals who came on H-1B visas. Many are talented, hardworking people who made rational decisions to improve their lives.

But their individual benefit came at a cost:

• American workers lost bargaining power
• Wages in tech and white-collar fields stagnated
• Housing in major cities became unaffordable
• A "temporary" program became a permanent pipeline

The policy failed. The people who designed it failed. The corporations who exploited it won.

Ending H-1B acknowledges this reality and realigns American policy with global norms.

The Bottom Line

The H-1B program benefited individual migrants and American corporations. It hurt American workers and made housing unaffordable.

Ending it isn't punishment. It's a return to how every other developed nation manages temporary foreign labor.

America shouldn't be the only country that offers permanent settlement through a program that was supposed to be temporary.

Sources

H-1B Statistics - [USCIS: Characteristics of H-1B Specialty Occupation Workers FY 2024](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/ola_signed_h1b_characteristics_congressional_report_FY24.pdf) - [Pew Research Center: What We Know About the H-1B Visa Program](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/03/04/what-we-know-about-the-us-h-1b-visa-program/) - [Visual Capitalist: H-1B Visa Approvals by Country 2024](https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualized-h-1b-visa-approvals-by-country-in-2024/)

Geographic Distribution - [Pew Research: Where Most H-1B Visa Workers Are Located](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/03/29/h-1b-visa-approvals-by-us-metro-area/) - [SF Chronicle: Bay Area Companies with Most H-1B Workers](https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/bay-area-h1b-visa-tracker/)

International Comparison - [Migration Policy Institute: Immigration Systems in Japan and South Korea](https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/japan-korea-immigration-evolve) - [Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Work and Long-term Stay Visas](https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/long/index.html)

Image Credit

• Photo by Sean Pollock on Unsplash