Visas for Immigrant Workers

Last updated: February 2026

Key Point Summary

A significant majority of Americans support the H-1B program providing visas for specific skilled immigrant workers, and a majority of Americans give this process a moderate or high priority. A smaller majority favor increasing the number of H-1B visas available to highly skilled foreign workers. Americans also favor giving work permits to undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for at least five years, have jobs, and no criminal record.

Previous research shows that a majority of Americans view legal immigrant workers as an economic asset. Most say immigrants fill jobs Americans don’t want and provide needed expertise in science and technology. Concerns about job competition persist but are limited. Only about one in four Americans see immigration as a major risk to American workers.

Bottom line: Americans broadly endorse employment-based visa pathways, especially for high-skilled workers and roles tied to labor shortages.

Availability of Data and Confidence in Conclusions

This assessment is based on 7 questions from 7 nationally representative surveys conducted between 2025 and 2026, with a total sample size of 22,243. The evidence base is moderate. Consistency also appears moderate: the available questions address related but not identical topics, including perceptions of economic benefits, labor-shortage admissions, job-competition risks, and work-based requirements for legal status. The evidence appears to point in a generally similar direction, but the number of items tightly focused on work-visa policy itself is still somewhat limited. By comparison, our 2022-2024 polling data on visas for immigrant workers consists of 10 questions from 2 nationally representative surveys, with a total sample size of 10,483.

Overall Confidence: FAIR.

Policy Implications

Policymakers face a public that generally supports work-based immigration pathways. Programs that expand opportunities for high-skilled workers or address labor shortages align well with majority sentiment.

All in all, moderate expansions or reforms to existing worker programs will find broad acceptance. Conversely, canceling or limiting H-1B programs would face public opposition.

Detailed Discussion

Surveys from 2025 show strong majority support for employment-based immigration.  Seventy percent of registered voters support the H-1B visa program overall [1], and 59% of registered voters favor increasing the number of H-1B visas available to high-skilled workers. [2] Over seven in ten Americans say expanding the temporary guest work program should be a moderate or high priority. [3]

A November 2025 survey found similarly strong favor (72%) for a law that would give work permits to undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for at least five years, have jobs, and no criminal record. [4]

These results are consistent with 2024 findings, when 69–78% of Americans favored admitting more high-skilled immigrants or immigrants who can fill labor shortages. [5,6]

Public evaluations of the economic role of immigrant workers are also positive. Most Americans say legal immigrants fill jobs Americans do not want [7] and provide valuable expertise to U.S. companies. [8] Only a minority view legal immigration as a major risk to job availability. [9]

Impact of Question Wording and Context

Support for work-based visas remains high across different question formats, including increasing H-1B visas “available to high skilled workers”, or “skilled workers from other countries who meet requirements”, or “expanding temporary guest-worker programs”.

Variation appears mainly when questions emphasize different aspects of immigration. Items focused on economic contributions such as filling labor shortages or providing technical expertise—draw stronger support than items highlighting job-competition risks, which produce more divided responses.

Trends Over Time

Public support for work-based immigration pathways has been consistently strong across the range of available data, with no meaningful change in direction over time.

  • 2023: 66% of national registered voters were in favor of allowing illegal immigrants with jobs to apply for legal status in one poll [10], while another survey found 78% of national adults giving at least moderate priority to strengthening visa overstay policies. [11]
  • 2024: 78% of national adults favored legal admission of more high-skilled immigrants [5] and 69% favoring admission of immigrants who fill labor shortages. [6] Another survey found 71% of national adults viewing skilled immigrant workers as at least a minor economic benefit [8], with only 27% viewing job competition from legal immigrants as a major risk. [9]
  • 2025: 70% of national registered voters supporting the H-1B program [1], consistent with a separate poll finding 59% of registered voters in favor of increasing H-1B visas. [2] A November survey found 72% of national adults in favor of work permits for undocumented immigrants with five or more years of residence, employment, and a clean criminal record. [4]

Bottom Line: Support for work-based immigration pathways has been stable and consistently high from 2023 through 2025, typically ranging from 59% to 78% across question formats. There is little evidence of meaningful change in either direction over this period.

Citations

  1. Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. (2025). Trump Begins Second Term Stronger Than The First, 6 In 10 Voters Approve Of Sending U.S. Troops To Southern Border. Fielded 1/23/25-1/27/25. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  2. Wall Street Journal/GBAO/WSJ/Fabrizio Lee. (2025). WSJ_JAN25. Fielded 1/9/25-1/14/25.
  3. Associated Press/AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (2025). US adults want border security action but mostly oppose arrests in schools, churches. Fielded 1/9/25-1/13/25. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  4. Marquette Law School/SSRS. (2025). 55% say Department of Justice has filed unjustified cases against Trump's political opponents. Fielded 11/5/25-11/12/25. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  5. Pew Research Center/SSRS. (2024). Trump and Harris Supporters Differ on Mass Deportations but Favor Border Security, High-Skilled Immigration. Fielded 8/5/24-8/11/24. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  6. Pew Research Center/SSRS. (2024). Trump and Harris Supporters Differ on Mass Deportations but Favor Border Security, High-Skilled Immigration. Fielded 8/5/24-8/11/24. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  7. Pew Research Center/SSRS. (2024). Most U.S. voters say immigrants – no matter their legal status – mostly take jobs citizens don't want. Fielded 8/5/24-8/11/24. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  8. Associated Press/AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (2024). Many Americans say immigrants contribute to economy but there's worry over risks. Fielded 3/21/24-3/25/24. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  9. Associated Press/AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (2024). Many Americans say immigrants contribute to economy but there's worry over risks. Fielded 3/21/24-3/25/24. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  10. Fox News/Shaw & Co. Research/Beacon Research. (2023). Majorities support policies to strengthen border but also to make it easier to immigrate to US. Fielded 2/19/23-2/22/23. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
  11. Associated Press/AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (2023). Plunge in border crossings could blunt GOP attack on Biden. Fielded 2/16/23-2/20/23. Accessed via Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.

Related Polling Data

Back to Top