Trump Administration Launches ‘Project Firewall’ with Viral Ad: H-1B Visa ‘Abuse’ Puts Spotlight on India’s 72% Share

US Department of Labor Video Claims American Dream ‘Stolen’ by Foreign Workers; New $100,000 Fee and Proactive Audits Rock Tech Industry

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The United States Department of Labor (DOL), under the Trump administration, has escalated its crackdown on the H-1B non-immigrant visa program, releasing a powerful video advertisement that directly links its misuse to the job displacement of young Americans. The ad, shared on the DOL’s X handle on Thursday, October 30, has ignited fierce debate by highlighting India’s overwhelming share of H-1B approvals.

‘American Dream Stolen’ and the India Connection

The 52-second video features a voiceover declaring that the American dream has been “stolen” from young Americans as politicians and bureaucrats “allowed the companies to abuse the H-1B visa.”

A key moment in the advertisement is a pie-chart graphic that visually depicts the countries with the largest number of H-1B visa-holders. It prominently shows India with the highest share at 72 per cent, a figure presented as the backdrop to the claim of lost American opportunities.

Quote from the Video Voiceover: “Many young Americans have had this dream stolen from them by foreign workers as politicians and bureaucrats allowed the companies to abuse the H-1B visa.”

Project Firewall: The New Enforcement Initiative

The video serves to promote the administration’s new enforcement initiative, Project Firewall, which aims to hold companies accountable for H-1B abuse and “prioritise Americans in the hiring process.” The DOL asserts that through this project, they are “Recapturing the American dream for American people.”

Project Firewall is part of President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, shifting H-1B enforcement from a complaint-driven model to a more proactive compliance framework. This initiative, directed by Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, involves sweeping audits of companies suspected of using H-1B visas to undercut wages or displace American employees.

The $100,000 Fee and Community Panic

This campaign follows a significant financial deterrent imposed by the administration just weeks earlier. On September 19, President Trump signed a proclamation imposing a staggering, one-time fee of $100,000 on new H-1B petitions, which took effect on September 21.

The move, intended to ensure that only highly-skilled foreign workers who cannot be replaced by skilled Americans would enter the US, triggered widespread panic, particularly within the Indian community in the US, who are the primary beneficiaries of the visa. The White House later clarified that this was a one-time payment and did not affect current visa holders.

Background on the H-1B Visa

The H-1B is a non-immigrant program that allows US companies to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialized roles, typically requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher in fields such as IT, engineering, medicine, and science. The visa is initially issued for a three-year period, extendable up to six.

The latest moves, which include the fee hike, Project Firewall, and a tweaked rule ending the automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents (EAD), signal a decisive shift in the US’s immigration policy, maintaining President Trump’s strong anti-immigration pitch and a renewed focus on labor market nationalism. According to the Office of Homeland Security, India contributed 33 per cent of the total non-immigrant population in the US in fiscal year 2024.