Trump Imposes $100K Fee on H-1B Visas: Major Immigration Policy Change
H-1B Visa Fee: In an attempt to reduce what his administration claims is excessive use of the program, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that will levy a $100,000 application cost for H-1B visas.
From the Oval Office, where officials described how the measure would encourage businesses to hire American workers while still offering a path to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialized fields, Trump stated, “We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen.” If the payment is not made with the proclamation, admission into the program will be restricted.
New $100K Fee on H-1B Visas: What It Means for Immigrant Workers
Trump also ordered the establishment of a “gold card” immigration channel, which he said would expedite visas for certain people in return for a large cost. In addition to enabling a firm to pay $2 million to accelerate the process for a foreign worker it sponsors, the proposal would expedite visas for foreigners who pay the US $1 million.
The actions are the most recent in a string of initiatives by the government to restrict immigration and impose strict new restrictions on the kinds of foreigners who are permitted to enter the nation. They pose a serious danger to sectors of the economy that rely heavily on H-1B workers.
The H-1B visa is a three-year work visa that has the option of a three-year extension. According to economists, the program helps US businesses expand and stay competitive, which boosts employment in the country.
After speaking with businesses, the government arrived at the annual charge of $100,000 plus screening expenses, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said reporters on a call on Friday night.
Speaking to the Department of Homeland Security, he said that the payment plan is still being discussed, namely “whether we’re going to charge the $300,000 up front or $100,000 a year for the three years.”
Trump’s views on the H-1B visa program have changed over time, and at times, his followers have been starkly split on the matter.
Although the president had previously attacked the H-1B program and limited access to foreign worker visas during his first term, he said during the 2024 campaign that he would be amenable to granting certain foreign-born workers legal status if they completed a US university.
In December of last year, Trump again supported the program, telling the New York Post that he is “a believer in H-1B.”
“I have always supported the visas and have always loved them. We have them for that reason,” Trump said to the news organization at the time.
Trump made these comments after businessmen Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, whom he first appointed to head the Department of Government Efficiency, defended the program, drawing harsh criticism from MAGA supporters who wanted to limit immigration.
Each year, 65,000 H-1B visas are issued, with an additional 20,000 set aside exclusively for holders of advanced degrees from US universities. A lottery mechanism is often used when demand for the visa outpaces availability.
H-1B visas are often used by businesses to assist in staffing their positions. However, the industry most often linked to H-1Bs is technology. Both small and large IT companies claim that in order to employ skilled workers that they cannot locate domestically, they must use the H-1B program.
As part of his campaign to get US businesses to hire American workers rather than foreigners, Trump has previously criticized the H-1B visa program. Trump charged US corporations of using H-1B visas “for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay” during his 2016 campaign.
As part of his administration’s efforts to reduce legal immigration and adapt to the shifting economic circumstances brought on by the Covid-19 epidemic, Trump repeatedly limited availability to H-1B visas in 2020.
Trump also announced the so-called “gold card” initiative, which aims to shift the country’s immigration balance in favor of top earners and entrepreneurs from foreign laborers.
For foreigners who can afford the $1 million cost or convince their company to spend twice as much to sponsor them, the initiative, which was conceived by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, would expedite admittance. Lutnick said in the Oval Office on Friday that the current green card procedure for foreign workers who want to live and work in the United States is causing the nation to hire the “bottom quartile” of foreign workers.
Regarding the gold card program, Lutnick said, “We will only accept exceptional individuals at the highest level.”