U.S. Senator targets H-1B exemptions for Universities, research bodies

A top Republican Senator introduced legislation on Wednesday (October 1, 2025) that would end exemptions allowing universities, research institutions, and nonprofits to hire unlimited numbers of foreign workers under the H-1B visa program. This move could directly affect international faculty and researchers at U.S. institutions.

“Colleges and universities shouldn’t get special treatment for bringing in woke and anti-American professors from around the world,” Senator Tom Cotton said in a statement announcing the measure. “My Bill closes these loopholes that universities have abused for far too long.”

The proposal, known as the Visa Cap Enforcement Act, aims to tighten the numerical limits on H-1B visas by eliminating long-standing exceptions in U.S. immigration law. Currently, universities, affiliated nonprofits, and research centres are exempt from the annual cap of 85,000 on H-1B visas. Cotton’s legislation would strike those provisions, forcing all such hires to fall under the same quota that applies to private companies.

According to the bill’s text, foreign workers who remain in H-1B status for more than three years would be counted against the visa cap. It would also remove the exemption for employment at colleges, universities and nonprofit research institutions, eliminate provisions that made it easier for foreign workers to change into H-1B status, and ensure that new petitions filed after a change of employer are again counted against the annual quota.

Mr. Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and a long-time critic of high-skilled immigration programs, has argued that the H-1B system disadvantages American workers and opens the door to ideological agendas. His latest effort highlights the growing political scrutiny of how U.S. higher education and research institutions recruit foreign talent.

The proposed restrictions would likely have a direct impact on Indian academics, who form one of the largest groups employed under the H-1B visa program.

India has consistently pressed Washington on visa reform, as tens of thousands of its citizens work in the US technology sector and in academia.

The bill has been referred to committee and faces an uncertain path in a closely divided Senate.

This article is published in an arrangement with 5WH.