President Trump intensified his immigration policies, focusing on a visa program for skilled foreign workers. He enacted a new proclamation, introducing a significant $100,000 fee for fresh applicants seeking H-1B visas, which enable international professionals, such as software engineers, to work in the United States.
The H-1B visa program was established to assist businesses in filling specialized roles when qualified American candidates are unavailable. However, staunch immigration critics and far-right groups have consistently claimed that this visa enables companies to substitute American workers with foreign talent. This topic has even created divisions among Mr. Trump’s supporters, and the President’s own position on the program has evolved.
Before signing this new proclamation in the Oval Office on Friday, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick articulated the administration’s justification for this substantial fee, labeling the H-1B as the “most abused visa.”
“The core principle behind this is to prevent large tech corporations and other businesses from relying on training foreign workers,” Mr. Lutnick stated. “They will now face a $100,000 government fee on top of employee salaries, making it financially unviable. The intention is that if training is necessary, it should be provided to recent graduates from American universities.”
This new fee is anticipated to encounter legal opposition. It is scheduled to become effective on September 21 and will apply exclusively to new visa applicants, as confirmed in a Saturday memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know.
What is the H-1B visa program?
The H-1B program was established by Congress through legislation passed in 1990, at a time when a labor shortage was anticipated. Upon signing it into law, President George Bush highlighted that the program was intended to “encourage the immigration of exceptionally talented people, such as scientists, engineers and educators.”
Businesses utilize these visas, which are initially valid for three years and can be renewed, to bring in foreign professionals possessing specialized skills, predominantly in the fields of science and technology. This is done to fill positions for which suitable American workers are not available.
To obtain an H-1B visa, employers must submit a petition to the government, detailing the job role and the qualifications of the chosen foreign worker. While the H-1B program grants only temporary status in the U.S., not permanent residency, many employers eventually sponsor these visa holders for a green card, thereby initiating their journey toward U.S. citizenship.
Despite the proclamation, uncertainty persisted on Saturday regarding the fee’s implementation. Mr. Lutnick initially stated on Friday that the $100,000 fee would be an annual payment made by the hiring American company. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified via social media that it would be a one-time charge.
Who are the workers under the program?
Annually, Congress allocates 65,000 H-1B visas for individuals holding a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, with an additional 20,000 reserved for those with a master’s degree or higher. Notably, universities and research institutions are exempt from these numerical limitations.
The majority of H-1B visa recipients are software engineers, computer programmers, and other professionals within the technology sector. Last year, prominent companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and IBM were among the top employers of H-1B visa holders, as reported by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, a significant number of visa holders also work in diverse fields like education, healthcare, and manufacturing.
While there’s no country-specific cap, a substantial portion—roughly two-thirds to three-quarters—of all H-1B visa recipients originate from India.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs, in a Saturday social media post, underscored the strong bilateral relationship and voiced apprehension that these sudden policy shifts could lead to “humanitarian consequences” for families. Many H-1B visa holders relocate to the United States with their spouses and children, who often reside there for extended periods on dependent visas.
Why has the H-1B visa program been criticized by some Republicans?
An estimate from earlier this year by fwd.us, an immigration advocacy organization, indicates approximately 730,000 H-1B visa holders currently reside in the United States. This figure represents a minor portion of the overall workforce, which stood at over 163 million employed individuals as of September.
Critics of the H-1B visa argue that American businesses frequently leverage it to employ foreign workers who may accept lower wages than their American counterparts for identical roles. Many of these critics are Republicans who align with Mr. Trump’s stringent immigration policies.
Interestingly, some of Mr. Trump’s notable supporters are key figures in the tech industry, a sector highly dependent on H-1B workers. These employers often assert that they struggle to find sufficient qualified American talent for these specialized positions.
The introduction of this new fee has already generated widespread uncertainty and disruption across various industries. However, its impact is expected to be particularly severe on the technology sector of the economy.
Do H-1B holders replace American workers?
For employers categorized by the government as “H-1B dependent,” obtaining an H-1B visa necessitates first attempting to recruit domestic candidates. These employers are legally obligated to compensate H-1B workers at a rate no less than the “actual wage” paid to similar employees, or the “prevailing wage,” defined by the government as the average salary for comparable roles within a specific occupation.
Instances have occurred where the H-1B program was utilized to bring in immigrant workers for positions previously held by American citizens. For example, in 2015, approximately 250 tech employees at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, were informed of their layoffs and subsequently tasked with training their replacements—H-1B visa holders brought in by an Indian outsourcing company. That same year, similar situations impacted employees at Toys “R” Us and the New York Life Insurance Company.
The H-1B program mandates that employers pay visa holders at least the average wage for the job in its location or the average wage of American-born workers performing equivalent duties. Companies are explicitly forbidden from paying H-1B workers less than others with comparable skills. Nevertheless, in 2019, around 60 percent of these positions offered salaries “well below” the local median wage for their respective occupations, a finding by the Economic Policy Institute that highlighted the Labor Department’s significant leeway in determining H-1B wage standards.