Amid the ongoing row over H-1B visas in the US, an American lawmaker expressed his frustration over taxpayer-funded Purdue University’s move to hire a foreigner as a faculty member.
Indiana State Representative Andrew Ireland took to X to slam the university for its choice to hire a professional to teach marketing on an H-1B visa.
‘Can no American do this job?’
Questioning the university, Purdue wrote, “Taxpayer-funded Purdue University disclosed it is hiring a foreigner on an H-1B visa to teach marketing. Does anyone seriously believe no American in the Chicago area can teach marketing for $127,500 a year? The same university even has a PHD program for marketing students.”
🚨 Taxpayer-funded Purdue University disclosed it is hiring a foreigner on an H-1B visa to teach marketing.
— Andrew Ireland (@AndrewIrelandIN) December 27, 2025
Does anyone seriously believe no American in the Chicago area can teach marketing for $127,500 a year?
The same university even has a PHD program for marketing students pic.twitter.com/TlDzVyzCoc
Ireland’s post drew a slew of reactions, with one saying “Universities try to hire the best person for the job, regardless of whether he is American or foreign. Under your thinking, Princeton wouldn’t hire Einstein, because they could have gotten some guy from Kentucky for the same price.”
Another remarked that H-1B visas are strictly meant for job roles that can’t or won’t be filled by American nationals.
“Professorship doesn’t simply go to “the best person” and H1Bs are not to be used that way either,” the user added.
Purdue University hired via the H-1B route for multiple positions
Purdue University and Indiana University are both using H-1B visas to fill data science and software engineering roles, according to The Fix.
In fact, the university recently hired a senior data scientist under an H-1B visa in November.
As for Indiana University, it also posted a filing with an intent to hire two associate software engineers under H-1B visas. The positions each have a salary of $70,533 and are from the beginning of 2026 to the end of 2028.
What is the H-1B situation in the US right now?
In its most recent update, the US government has announced a significant change to the H-1B selection process, including replacing the traditional random lottery with a wage-based, weighted selection system. This will be effective from February 27, 2026 for the fiscal year 2027 cycle.
Additionally, employers need to pay a $100,000 fee on some new H-1B visa petitions which were filed after September.