H-1B and OPT Workers Could Be Affected by Proposed US Immigration Freeze

Representative Chip Roy of Texas has introduced the Pausing All Admissions Until Security Ensured (PAUSE) Act, a bill that would halt most immigration to the United States and dismantle several existing visa programmes.

The proposal, backed by conservative advocacy groups including the Immigration Accountability Project, Citizens for Renewing America, and the National Immigration Center for Enforcement, would suspend nearly all admission routes except short-term tourist visas. It targets programmes such as H-1B visas and Optional Practical Training (OPT), and would remove current pathways that allow foreign nationals to move towards permanent residency. 

Roy argues that the present system disadvantages American workers and strains public services. The bill sets out a series of conditions that must be met before immigration resumes. These include ending Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court ruling that guarantees public education for undocumented children, and redefining birthright citizenship so that automatic citizenship applies only to children with at least one US citizen or permanent-resident parent. 

The measure also seeks to abolish chain migration and the Diversity Visa lottery, restricting family reunification to spouses and minor children. Additional provisions would bar individuals linked to groups viewed as hostile to US interests, including adherents of Sharia law, members of the Chinese Communist Party, and people associated with terrorist organisations. 

The legislation would also prevent noncitizens from accessing federal welfare programmes such as food assistance and public housing, and would end the adjustment-of-status process for H-1B visa holders. Roy presents the bill as a response to what he describes as a crisis in both legal and illegal immigration. 

He argues that recent admissions policies have burdened public systems and reduced employment opportunities for young Americans, particularly in entry-level roles often filled by H-1B workers. Supporters point to the country’s foreign-born population, now 51.9 million, or more than 15 per cent of the total, as evidence for a temporary halt, while critics warn that the proposal would severely disrupt universities, technology firms, and industries that depend on international talent.

If enacted, the PAUSE Act would introduce some of the most extensive immigration restrictions in modern US history.