“American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters,” US vice president JD Vance said on Wednesday (local time) as he announced a crackdown on the alleged misuse of the H-1B visa programme.He also said the US department of labour has launched investigations and issued subpoenas against entities accused of exploiting the visa system under the Trump administration.Speaking in Wisconsin’s Milwaukee, Vance said the action is part of a wider fraud enforcement drive aimed at protecting taxpayer money and ensuring visa programmes are not misused.He said the H-1B visa programme was created to allow highly skilled professionals, including scientists, doctors and technology experts, to work in the United States. However, he alleged that some large corporations and overseas fraudsters have been misusing the programme to lower wages for American workers.“We have a programme called the H-1B visa programme. This goes to show how broad-based the fraud task force is. We’re fighting for your taxpayer money, but we’re also making sure that fraudsters don’t take advantage of these visa programmes,” he said.Vance said the H-1B programme was created to attract exceptional global talent in sectors like scientists, doctors and technology experts, where specialised skills are required.“Now why does this programme exist? This is a visa programme that was set up to ensure that if you were a brilliant technology person, or a brilliant scientist, or a brilliant doctor, you could come to the United States and get access to this visa programme,” he said.However, he alleged that the system had increasingly been exploited by large corporations and foreign actors seeking cheaper labour.“But you know what’s happening way too much is that big corporations and fraudsters overseas are using this programme to undercut the wages of American workers,” Vance said.He said the administration would no longer tolerate such practices.“So you know what we’re doing in the Trump administration? We’re saying, ‘No more. If you are trying to take advantage of that visa programme, you are not allowed in to the United States of America,'” he added.Vance also revealed that authorities had already begun taking action against suspected offenders.“The federal department of labour has initiated dozens of subpoenas and investigations” into entities accused of exploiting the H-1B programme, he said.Emphasising the administration’s “America First” approach to employment, Vance declared, “American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters, and the Department of Labour is fighting back against it!”The H-1B visa programme allows US employers to temporarily hire foreign professionals for specialised roles that typically require at least a bachelor’s degree. Employers must certify to the US department of labour that hiring H-1B workers will not negatively affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed American workers.The announcement is likely to be closely watched in India, whose professionals make up the largest share of H-1B visa recipients, particularly in the technology, engineering, healthcare and financial services sectors. Any tightening of enforcement could have implications for Indian workers and companies that depend on the programme.The US Congress currently caps new H-1B visas at 65,000 annually, with an additional 20,000 visas reserved for applicants holding advanced degrees from US universities. According to immigration advocacy group FWD. us, nearly 730,000 H-1B visa holders currently live in the United States, alongside around 550,000 dependants.