Senator Eric Schmitt Demands Shutdown Of H-1B Program Over National Security Nightmare Claims

Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri reignited the H-1B visa fight by calling the programme an “economic betrayal” and a “national security nightmare,” and he demanded the program be shut down.

“Home / Immigration / India's 283,772 H-1B visa approvals in FY25 spark fresh US jobs debate India's 283,772 H-1B visa approvals in FY25 spark fresh US jobs debate USCIS data showing India received nearly 70% of H-1B approvals has reignited debate over foreign hiring and US tech jobs Advertisement”

Business Standard

In the FY 2025 debate, the Financial Express article says the 85,000 annual cap covers only new visas, while renewals and exemptions push total annual approvals well past that figure, including 406,348 petitions approved in FY 2023.

The Times of India

The same report says that in FY 2024, 283,397 Indian nationals were approved for H-1B visas, about 71% of all approvals, and it notes that around 80% of H-1B work is in computer science, mathematics, or engineering.

Schmitt also directed criticism toward Chinese nationals, claiming they are entering sensitive science and technology roles and could help the Chinese Communist Party access American intellectual property and carry out spying.

The Business Standard reports that USCIS data released on April 24 reignited the political fight, with Schmitt accusing technology companies of replacing American workers with foreign hires.

It says the FY2025 H-1B report showed India received 283,772 approvals, far ahead of China’s 49,161 approvals, and that USCIS approved 406,348 H-1B petitions during the financial year.

VisaHQ

Reacting on Tuesday, Schmitt wrote on X that “American workers are told to ‘upskill’ or get replaced by H-1B hires,” and he also accused major technology firms of promoting what he described as an unfair hiring system while laying off US employees.

Immigration entrepreneur James Blunt pushed back by arguing the data did not support claims of large-scale displacement, writing “we went from ‘millions flooding in’ to 400k approvals… with 70% being renewals of people already here.”

The Business Standard says the latest debate comes weeks after Arizona Representative Eli Crane introduced the “End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026,” a proposal that also targets the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme used by international students after graduation.

“A social media post by US entrepreneur James Blunt claiming that H-1B visa holders make up less than 0”

The Times of India

It adds that Schmitt has repeatedly criticised OPT, calling it “a backdoor route into the US labour market,” and it quotes him saying OPT “violates Congress's requirement that F-1 visa holders enter the US temporarily and solely for the purpose of pursuing a course of study.”

The Financial Express frames the dispute as part of a broader US political flashpoint over claims of fraud, job losses, and national security risks, with Schmitt’s posts targeting both Indian and Chinese applicants.

Meanwhile, the Times of India reports that US entrepreneur James Blunt’s social media claim that H-1B visa holders make up less than 0.5% of the American workforce triggered an online debate over immigration, tech jobs, and data interpretation, including criticism that his post did not include a source for the figures.