At least on social media, Americans have launched a ‘war’ against the H-1B Visa program. Viral social media posts are circulating with negative sentiment towards the H-1B Visa program, with some labeling it a scam and advocating for its termination.
A recent survey indicates that 56% of Americans perceive H-1B visa holders as displacing U.S. jobs, intensifying discussions surrounding the foreign workforce within the American economy.
The H-1B visa program allows US companies to employ highly educated foreign professionals to work in ‘specialty occupations’ requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent.
The US employers, however, have to ensure there are no American workers available for the same job and that the foreign workers are not underpaid for the work.
So, are the US employers hiring foreign workers at the cost of the American workforce?
Survey Findings
Blind, the anonymous community app for verified professionals, polled 4,230 verified professionals in the U.S., including H-1B holders, green card holders, and U.S. citizens, between August 25 and September 3, 2025, and found that opinions on the role of H-1B visa holders are widely divergent in the American workforce.
While 70% of respondents said H-1B visa holders play a crucial role in helping American companies grow, the split by immigration status is striking. Only 49% of U.S. citizens agreed with that statement, compared to 87% of foreign-born professionals, according to the poll.
When participants were asked if employers should hire the best talent regardless of citizenship or visa status, a similar difference surfaced.
63% of all respondents said yes, but the answers split sharply along visa lines. According to the poll results, 60% of U.S. citizens said that U.S. citizens and green card holders should be given hiring priority, while only 11% of H-1B holders and 35% of permanent residents agreed.
H-1B and Competition
Perhaps most telling, more than one in three professionals (33%) believed that H-1B visa holders are direct competitors for jobs and cause unfair competition. The percentage was far higher among Americans, at 56%. In contrast, only 9% of H-1B employees themselves held that opinion, compared to 27% of green card holders.
These differences coincide with escalating social and political unpredictabilities. Big Tech has come under fire from JD Vance for firing Americans while employing foreign workers to replace them under the H-1B, citing instances like Jobs. Concerns have now increased due to the Walmart layoff controversy and PERM sabotage.
Voices Against H-1B
Some people still view foreign workers as direct competitors, despite the fact that many acknowledge their contributions to the innovation and expansion of the US tech sector.
On Blind, professionals voiced sharply contrasting views. A Microsoft employee wrote, “The H-1B and other visa programs are out of control, and have become a way for the US to hand its best jobs to foreigners. We have enough SWE graduates in the U.S. now that these programs can and should be scaled back SIGNIFICANTLY.”