‘Not a single American who can blow a whistle…’: Row over California hiring 300 H-1B teachers, including PE staff

$100,000 fee to hire foreign workers stirred a new debate in California, where school districts say the Trump administration’s latest H-1B visa rule could deepen an already severe teacher shortage. MAGA activists said the programme is being stretched to cover everyday classroom roles and is replacing Americans in common jobs with foreign teachers.

Since September, American employers have been required to pay a $100,000 sponsorship fee for new H-1B visas, on top of existing application costs that range from $9,500 to $18,800. The visas allow skilled foreign workers to live and work in the United States and are most commonly associated with the tech sector. In California, school districts have increasingly relied on them to staff classrooms.


According to the California Department of Education, districts filed more than 300 H-1B visa applications for the 2023–24 school year, double the number from two years earlier. Many of these hires were made to fill vacancies in dual-language programmes, special education and, in some cases, physical education.

California’s teacher shortage remains acute. In 2023, nearly 47,000 teaching positions were filled by staff working outside their credentials, while more than 22,000 roles were left vacant. Shortages were largely seen in English language development and special education.

West Contra Costa Unified School District, east of San Francisco, turned to overseas recruitment to plug gaps. The district hired around 88 teachers on H-1B visas, mostly from the Philippines, Spain and Mexico.

But education leaders say the new fee could make such hiring impossible.

Teachers’ unions warn that if the government reduces international hires, it will increase workloads and disrupt students.

The policy has also raised questions about whether H-1B visas are being used for roles as "less specialised." A physical education teacher identified as HR, working on a short-term J-1 visa, said he may be forced to leave when his visa expires. “Everybody says here that they need teachers in California … but they don’t want to do anything to [help us stay] here,” he said.

Within weeks of the announcement, a coalition of worker groups, unions and religious organisations sued the administration, arguing the fee would damage education and healthcare.

International teachers say the uncertainty has made them feel unwelcome. “I feel like it’s a form of discrimination to impose [a] $100,000 fee for teachers,” said A.F., an elementary school teacher on an H-1B visa.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis also weighed in on the issue. In a post on X, the Republican leader said: "Another example of how H1B visas are used to hire foreigners when an American could easily fill the roll."