[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2821 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2821
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform the H-1B
nonimmigrant visa program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 16, 2025
Mr. Banks introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform the H-1B
nonimmigrant visa program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``American Tech Workforce Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The H-1B nonimmigrant visa is a program that is being
used to supplant United States workers with inexpensive foreign
labor.
(2) Sixty percent of H-1B nonimmigrant visas are assigned
wage levels that are substantially below the local median wages
for their relevant occupations.
(3) The ability to hire non-United States workers at wages
substantially below median wage levels, adjusted for locality
and occupation, clearly disincentivizes the hiring of United
States workers.
(4) In 2024, the 8 companies receiving the most initial
approvals for H-1B nonimmigrant visas were Big Tech companies,
including Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Apple, which
continues a 10-year trend.
(5) The Optional Practical Training Program, which was
established without explicit congressional authorization--
(A) was expanded by the Obama Administration for
student visa holders who have completed their studies
and earned a degree in a science, technology,
engineering, or math field to provide greater benefits
to Big Tech companies;
(B) allows such student visa holders to work in the
United States for up to 3 years, while waiving their
employer's payroll tax withholding obligations with
respect to such workers; and
(C) functions as a tax break and significant
incentive for employers not to employ United States
workers.
SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING PROGRAM; EMPLOYMENT
AUTHORIZATION TO TERMINATE AFTER COMPLETION OF COURSE OF
STUDIES.
(a) In General.--Section 274A(h) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Prohibition of employment authorization for certain
aliens who are no longer engaged in full-time study in the
united states.--
``(A) Termination of optional practical training.--
The Optional Practical Training Program authorized
under section 214.2(f)(10)(ii) of title 8, Code of
Federal Regulations, is terminated.
``(B) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, an alien who is present in the United
States as a nonimmigrant described in section
101(a)(15)(F)(i) may not be provided employment
authorization in the United States through the Optional
Practical Training Program, or any successor program.
Any employment authorization for a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) shall terminate
upon the completion of the nonimmigrant's course of
studies and may not be extended beyond such date of
completion.''.
(b) Transition Rule.--Every application for Optional Practical
Training by a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i)) that is
pending on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be denied and
any fees paid in conjunction with any such application shall be
refunded.
SEC. 4. OTHER PROVISIONS REGARDING H-1B NONIMMIGRANT APPLICATIONS.
Section 212(n) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(n)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by amending subparagraph (A) to read
as follows:
``(A) The employer is offering, and will offer
during the period of authorized employment, an annual
wage to the H-1B nonimmigrant that is not less than the
greater of--
``(i) the annual wage that was paid to the
United States citizen or lawful permanent
resident employee who performed identical or
similar work to the work to be performed by the
H-1B nonimmigrant during the 2-year period
immediately preceding the date on which the
employer filed such application; or
``(ii)(I) $150,000, if offered during the
1-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of the American Tech Workforce Act of
2025; or
``(II) for any 1-year period beginning on
July 1 after the period described in subclause
(I), the sum of--
``(aa) the amount specified in
subclause (I); and
``(bb) such amount multiplied by
the cumulative percentage change in the
Consumer Price Index since such date of
enactment.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) A visa issued to an H-1B nonimmigrant pursuant to a petition
filed by an employer pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be valid for a
period not to exceed 1 year if any part of the work assigned to such H-
1B nonimmigrant will be performed at a third-party worksite.
``(7) An H-1B nonimmigrant visa may not be issued if any part of
the work assigned to the H-1B nonimmigrant for the beneficiary of the
applicant will be performed at a third-party worksite unless such
assignment--
``(A) is specific and nonspeculative; and
``(B) continues for the entire work period requested in the
petition.
``(8) In issuing an H-1B nonimmigrant visa or granting such status
to an alien during a fiscal year, petitions from employers shall be
approved by prioritizing petitions that offer higher compensation rates
above petitions that offer lower compensation rates, regardless of the
order in which such petitions were filed.''.
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, or in the amendments made by this Act, may be
construed to authorize any Federal agency to grant work authorization
to any alien through any program that has not been authorized by an Act
of Congress.
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