The United States currently relies heavily on Foreign Labor and Foreign Students across critical sectors like technology, healthcare, and defense. Yet inadequate vetting of non-citizen workers and academic enrollees introduces serious national security vulnerabilities.
From espionage to cybersecurity breaches to academic IP theft, these gaps compromise American sovereignty, workforce stability, and public trust.
Our dual framework—classifying both foreign labor and foreign enrollment as taxable economic industries—introduces accountability, reduces overreliance on non-citizen pipelines, and funds enhanced national vetting measures.
Security Risks of Foreign Labor and Foreign Student Enrollment
Espionage & Terrorism:
In 2024, U.S. authorities uncovered a North Korean IT infiltration ring exploiting stolen American identities to earn over $17 million through remote tech roles. These actors bypassed security checks, violated sanctions, and funded weapons development through illicit labor.
Similar threats emerge in academia. Foreign nationals admitted on F-1 visas for graduate research frequently gain access to defense-funded labs, AI and biotech projects, and critical infrastructure studies—with minimal national security vetting.
Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities:
Non-citizen workers, particularly in tech, finance, and healthcare, often hold elevated system privileges. In 2023 alone, multiple U.S. universities reported unauthorized data access incidents tied to F-1 visa holders working in STEM labs under Optional Practical Training (OPT) programs.
Academic IP Theft:
Foreign students from strategic rival nations (China, Iran, Russia) have been repeatedly linked to:
- Intellectual property theft
- Transfer of dual-use research (with both civilian and military applications)
- Unauthorized publication or exfiltration of sensitive datasets
The FBI’s China Initiative (suspended 2022) revealed how foreign scholars exploited academic access to evade export controls, skirt visa conditions, and repatriate U.S.-funded breakthroughs.
Labor Exploitation & Visa Fraud:
Visa categories like H-1B, L-1, and F-1/OPT are increasingly abused through:
- Fraudulent credentialing
- Shell companies posing as employers
- Wage suppression and human trafficking rings
These not only harm American workers, but also open unvetted backdoors into trusted sectors—without meaningful background checks or national loyalty assessments.
Visa and Green Card Security Gaps
H-1B & L-1 Visas:
While designed for skilled labor, these visas feature limited interagency vetting, leaving U.S. tech and defense firms exposed to infiltration. Third-party contracting and staffing firm loopholes further obscure identities and origins.
F-1 OPT/CPT Programs:
OPT and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) allow foreign students to work without employer sponsorship, E-Verify compliance, or national security screening. This creates a visa workarounds for strategic actors—granting access to U.S. firms, federal contracts, and sensitive technologies.
Employment-Based Green Cards (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3):
These pathways confer permanent residency with no assessment of national loyalty, strategic risk, or security clearance potential—even for those placed in federal labs, AI firms, or research institutions with defense funding.
Two-Pronged Solution: Taxing Foreign Labor & Foreign Enrollment
1. The U.S. Foreign Labor Levy
- Taxes corporate use of non-citizen labor (15–50% across visa and payroll structures)
- Incentivizes hiring of American citizen workers
- Funds DOL audits, enhanced interagency vetting, and employment compliance checks
- Reduces foreign labor reliance in critical infrastructure, tech, and national defense industries
2. The U.S. Foreign Student Enrollment Levy
- Taxes U.S. universities, not students, for each F-1/J-1 visa holder enrolled
- Targets long-term academic displacement and research security vulnerabilities
- Funds domestic scholarships, admissions capacity expansion, and national vetting systems
- Applies a National Security Vetting Surcharge for students from high-risk nations or those in strategic STEM fields (e.g., AI, biotech, semiconductors)
Institutional & Corporate Accountability
Both levies operate via IRS and SEVIS integration, with automatic reporting obligations.
Corporations and universities become direct stakeholders in national security—required to:
- Disclose foreign nationals by visa type
- Participate in DHS/USCIS audits
- Maintain access logs and vetting records
- Face fines or federal disqualification for non-compliance
This shifts the burden off individual workers or students and onto the institutions profiting from foreign access to the U.S. economy and academic system.
Strategic Results
Espionage Risk Reduction:
Reduced foreign penetration in high-trust roles and sensitive academic environments, particularly in AI, biotech, and energy.
Enrollment Reform:
Incentivizes universities to prioritize American citizen students, reducing dependency on foreign tuition pipelines.
Vetting Infrastructure:
Levy revenue supports real-time interagency vetting integration across:
- DHS
- DOL
- USCIS
- DOJ
- DoD
- DOE
- FBI
Reinvestment:
Funds will directly support:
- Research security teams
- Citizen workforce training
- Merit- and need-based scholarships
- High-risk student screening technology
Prioritizing American Citizens and National Interests
By classifying foreign labor and foreign enrollment as economic industries, we bring them under transparent, monitorable taxation and regulatory control.
These reforms align national security priorities with institutional behavior—ensuring that corporations and universities, not taxpayers or displaced American citizens, bear the costs and responsibilities of non-citizen dependency.