US Congressman Riley Moore on Saturday accused employers of replacing American computer science graduates with foreign workers through the H-1B visa and Optional Practical Training (OPT) programmes. He noted that Americans face fierce competition from a pool of roughly 5,00,000 active H-1B visa holders, who are majorly sourced from India and China. His remarks, which come days after Vice President JD Vance described H-1B workers as “foreign indentured servants” is expected to intensify the debate.
Riley Moore Makes Shocking Claims
In a post on X, Moore called the H-1B and OPT programmes “SCAMS”, stating that companies use them to hire foreign workers at lower wages instead of employing Americans. He claimed that 6,50,000 Americans had graduated with computer science-related degrees but were being replaced by 5,00,000 H-1B visa holders. However, what caught everyone’s attention was his claim that the workers replacing Americans were majorly from India and China.
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Calling for an end to such programmes, Moore wrote on X, “H-1B and OPT programs are SCAMS that undercut and replace American workers with cheap foreign labor. 650k Americans graduated with computer science related degrees, but they’re being replaced by the 500k H1B visa holders who are mostly from China and India. This doesn’t make sense. We need to END these SCAM programs NOW!”
JD Vance On H-1B Workers
Earlier, on October 8, Vance had announced a crackdown on Microsoft, Adobe and several major IT outsourcing companies, including Indian firms Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL. The companies were suspended from the PERM programme, which helps employers sponsor foreign workers for green cards. During the conference, he had also accused companies of using foreign workers to replace Americans, claiming that H-1B workers earned less than American employees doing similar jobs.
‘Microsoft, you're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers. You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants,” Vance said. However, his claims about lower wages have been disputed by research. Several studies have found that H-1B workers are not necessarily paid less than comparable American professionals.
Meanwhile, the intensified scrutiny over H-1B visas matter as Indian nationals make up the largest share of H-1B visa beneficiaries. According to USCIS data, Indians accounted for around 70 per cent of approved H-1B beneficiaries in fiscal year 2025.
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