Immigration Attorney Charles Foster Calls for Practical Fixes Over Politics

IACCGH Business Hour | HUM FM 103.5

By Somdatta Basu

HOUSTON — Oct. 11, 2025. The IACCGH Business Hour on HUM FM 103.5 featured a candid and wide-ranging conversation with Charles Foster, Chairman of Foster LLP and one of the nation’s leading immigration attorneys. Drawing on decades of legal practice and policy experience—including advising Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and testifying before Congress—Foster argued that America’s legal immigration system is far more restrictive than commonly understood and that frequent policy swings are weakening the country’s talent pipeline.

“Most Americans do not fully appreciate just how restrictive our legal immigration system is,” Foster said, opening with a data-driven overview. He noted that Indian professionals seeking employment-based permanent residency face backlogs that can stretch 30 years due to per-country limits. Public perceptions, he added, often diverge sharply from reality. While FBI data shows immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, polling suggests many Americans believe the opposite.

A significant portion of the discussion focused on the H-1B visa, which Foster described as the system’s “workhorse” for retaining U.S.-educated specialists after Optional Practical Training. The program has been capped since 1990 at 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 for U.S. master’s graduates—a level Foster said is entirely misaligned with modern demand. He warned that a proposed $100,000 filing fee would effectively shut down the program, calling it untenable for employers and especially disruptive for hospitals and universities that depend on highly skilled professionals. A pending lawsuit, he noted, challenges the executive branch’s authority to impose such a fee.

Foster also reviewed alternative visa options but emphasized their limited scalability: the L-1 for intracompany transfers, the O-1 for individuals of extraordinary ability, and the EB-5 investor green card with its high capital and job-creation thresholds. He highlighted a structural disadvantage for Indian entrepreneurs, pointing out that the U.S. lacks an E-2 treaty investor visa with India, an arrangement that exists with many European and Asian countries.

Addressing misinformation in the marketplace, Foster cautioned listeners against unrealistic promises. He warned that some applicants are steered toward weak asylum or cancellation claims simply to obtain work authorization. “If someone guarantees immigration magic, be suspicious,” he said, stressing that ethical counsel provides honest guidance—even when no viable pathway exists.

Foster connected immigration policy directly to Houston’s economic vitality. Approximately one-quarter of the region’s workforce is foreign-born, he said, and without international immigration the metro area’s population growth would turn negative. The H-1B pipeline, he noted, has been a “secret sauce” driving research, healthcare innovation, and startup formation. Increasing uncertainty, however, is pushing students and researchers toward countries actively competing for global talent. Universities, he added, are already reporting enrollment declines as admitted students reconsider their plans.

Asked about durable reform, Foster outlined a pragmatic two-step approach: first, restore order and capacity at the southern border to create political space; second, expand legal immigration channels aligned with labor-market needs and national competitiveness. He called for substantially raising—or eliminating—the H-1B cap, modernizing employment-based quotas and per-country limits, and creating workable temporary visas for essential sectors. For the undocumented population, he advocated a long, earned path to legal status following border improvements, warning that mass deportation would trigger severe economic and humanitarian consequences.

Foster closed with a clear message:
“Replace slogans with systems. That’s how we protect families, meet workforce needs, and keep America competitive.”