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Representative Riley M. Moore this week dropped a political grenade into the immigration debate. He called for ending the H‑1B visa and OPT student work programs, and he did it as the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule that would tack a $103,265 fee onto each cap‑subject H‑1B petition. The timing is not a coincidence — it’s a direct challenge to the cheap‑labor status quo that benefits some big companies and a few bad actors.
Why Rep. Moore says H‑1B and OPT must go
“The H‑1B and OPT programs are a SCAM!” Rep. Riley M. Moore said bluntly. He argues Americans have the skills or can be trained, and that employers use these programs to hire cheaper foreign workers instead of paying U.S. grads fair wages. That is the heart of the complaint: this is not about talent shortages, it’s about cutting labor costs. If you believe in putting American workers first, Moore’s message lands like a welcome cold splash of reality.
DHS’s $103,265 fee: a blunt instrument or long‑overdue correction?
DHS’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking lays out an audacious plan — recover adjudication and vetting costs by charging roughly $103,265 per cap‑subject H‑1B petition. The agency used an 85,000‑petition baseline to calculate the number and opened a short public comment window that closes September 24. Yes, that price tag is jaw‑dropping. It would change the calculation for employers who treat H‑1Bs as a cheap, repeatable commodity. Expect furious lobbying from tech giants, universities, and trade groups — and expect this to land in court if DHS tries to finalize it unchanged.
OPT fraud findings add fuel to reformers’ fire
At the same time, ICE and DHS investigators have reported finding thousands of suspicious OPT placements — “phantom” employers, empty work sites, and clusters of students nominally employed just to pad immigration claims. Officials say they identified more than 10,000 connections to suspect employers. Those findings are why lawmakers like Moore are shouting for drastic action. Whether the cases all end in prosecution remains to be seen, but the pattern is worrying enough to demand oversight and, at minimum, real reform.
What comes next — politics, pushback, and a choice for the country
This fight will not be quiet. Lawmakers who want tighter borders and jobs for Americans will rally behind Moore’s call. Big employers, international‑student offices at universities, and immigrant‑rights groups will push back hard. The immediate battleground is the DHS rule docket: if you care about American workers, now is the time to make your voice heard before the September 24 comment deadline. Either we let companies keep treating immigration as a cost center, or we force a reset that puts citizens and honest employers first. That’s the real choice here — and it’s one our leaders should stop dancing around.
