Krishnamoorthi Warns Trump Administration Visa Crackdown Threatens U.S. Economic Competitiveness and Hands Global Talent Edge to the Chinese Communist Party
WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), sent a letter Tuesday to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and State Secretary Marco Rubio warning that the Trump Administration’s proposed visa restrictions would weaken U.S. economic competitiveness and hand global talent to the CCP. In the letter, Krishnamoorthi wrote that “the Trump Administration’s changes to the H-1B, F and J visa process will affect our competition with the People’s Republic of China. These changes include President Trump’s proclamation instituting a $100,000 fee for all new H-1B applicants and the Department of Homeland Security’s rule to establish a four-year time limit on F and J visas for students and exchange visitors.”
He cited warnings from business leaders that the plan would hurt employers and innovation:
“American business leaders are warning that proposed changes to H-1B visas would harm both American companies and U.S. economic competitiveness. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit against the Trump Administration, calling the changes ‘not only misguided policy’ but also ‘plainly unlawful.’ In a full statement, U.S. Chamber executive vice president Neil Bradley warned, ‘The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program.’”
Krishnamoorthi emphasized that skilled immigrants fuel American growth and entrepreneurship. “Immigrant talent has always been a key pillar of America’s economic engine,” he wrote. “A 2024 study found that every additional H-1B worker hired increases total firm employment by 0.83 additional employees. Limiting this flow of talent would jeopardize one of America’s greatest strengths—its startup culture.”
He also pointed to warnings from the technology and higher-education sectors:
“More than two dozen semiconductor executives have said that the Trump Administration’s plans for strict time-limits on F visas will block vital talent from reaching the United States. One executive warned that restricting international graduates ‘jeopardizes innovation capacity and the U.S.’s ability to lead in a sector critical to national security.’”
Krishnamoorthi noted that medical leaders have raised similar alarms.
“According to Dr. Jason M. Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians, the Trump Administration’s proposal ‘would affect more than 17,000 physicians and disrupt patient care nationwide.’ These doctors are disproportionately represented in underserved and rural communities where shortages are most acute.”
Finally, Krishnamoorthi contrasted these restrictions with Beijing’s new K visa program, designed to attract the same global talent U.S. policies are pushing away:
“In response to the Trump Administration’s illogical and potentially illegal changes, Beijing is throwing its doors wide open with its newly introduced K visa—designed to lure young STEM graduates…As our immigration policies push away future founders, doctors, scientists, and researchers, the PRC is branding itself as the place where the next generation of businesses and breakthroughs will take root.”
He concluded, “By undervaluing immigrants, we risk handing General Secretary Xi Jinping a strategic coup. The K visa does not simply welcome talent—it diverts the wealth, patents, and job creation that once sustained America’s economic leadership straight into the PRC’s economy.”
Krishnamoorthi called on the Departments of Labor, Homeland Security, and State to explain whether they assessed the economic costs of these restrictions, evaluated the impact of the CCP’s K visa on U.S. competitiveness, and established guardrails to prevent U.S.-trained STEM and medical graduates from being recruited into the PRC’s program.
The letter is available HERE.
###