STAR Act – Skilled Talent Are Rockstars

Raise Wages, Not Corporate Profits

The H-1B visa was supposed to bring the world’s top talent to America — the best of the best. But what happened instead? Corporations turned it into a discount hiring program. Cheaper labor, fewer rights, and no consequences. That’s not immigration policy — that’s exploitation in a suit.

Let’s be honest: this isn’t about immigrants “taking jobs.” It’s about billion-dollar companies refusing to pay fair wages and using the H-1B system to dodge the labor market entirely. That ends with the STAR Act.

How It Works

  1. Require companies to pay H-1B workers at least 160% of the prevailing wage.
  2. Establish transparent wage benchmarking and annual updates through the Department of Labor.
  3. Enforce compliance with penalties, audits, and funding for oversight.

Full Text

PURPOSE

To end the wage suppression scam at the heart of the H-1B program. The STAR Act restores fairness to the labor market by demanding that companies pay more, not less, when hiring foreign talent. If you truly need world-class workers, then pay them like rockstars — and stop using immigration as a backdoor to cheap labor.

Section 1: Rockstar Wage Requirement

A. Every H-1B worker must be paid at least 160% of the prevailing wage for their role and region.
B. The Department of Labor will define “prevailing wage” based on public, annually updated data.
C. Employers must certify compliance before filing H-1B petitions, with DOL authority to audit.

Section 2: Enforcement with Teeth

A. Violations result in $75,000 per violation and a 5-year ban on filing new H-1B petitions.
B. At least 10% of all H-1B employers will be audited annually by the Department of Labor.

Section 3: Infrastructure and Oversight

A. $50 million annually funds DOL enforcement teams and wage data infrastructure.
B. A $500 increase per H-1B application funds STAR oversight — paid by companies, not workers.

Section 4: Effective Date

This Act takes effect 90 days after passage. No stall tactics. No delay. Just fair wages now.

Disclaimer

I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t finalized legislative language — but I’m also not waiting around for someone else to write what’s clearly overdue. We need more single issue, readable bills.

These are serious drafts from someone running for Congress who believes voters deserve more than slogans and vague promises. And yes, once elected, I’ll work with the Office of Legislative Counsel, the Congressional Research Service, and policy experts to refine every section into fully enforceable law. That’s what they’re there for.

But make no mistake — the intent, urgency, and direction are already here.