In the wake of a surprising $100,000 fee increase on new H-1B visas, announced by former President Donald Trump, a resurfaced video of him pledging automatic green cards for foreign graduates has captured significant attention.
The new H-1B visa fee, effective immediately, has caused considerable anxiety, particularly within the tech industry, which heavily relies on foreign talent through the H-1B program. While the White House has clarified that the fee applies only to new applicants and not to renewals or existing visa holders, the policy has already prompted urgent guidance from major tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and JPMorgan, advising their employees to return to the US before the deadline.
During a June 2024 interview, Trump expressed his desire to facilitate the process for international students graduating from U.S. colleges, stating, “What I want to do, and what I will do, is — you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country.” This potential policy change could offer a direct path to permanent residency for millions of international students, though Trump has not publicly reiterated this stance recently. For now, the immediate concern for many remains the substantial increase in the H-1B visa fee.
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