{"id":95011,"date":"2025-09-20T06:03:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T06:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=95011"},"modified":"2025-09-20T06:03:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T06:03:16","slug":"trump-adds-100000-fee-for-skilled-worker-visa-applicants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=95011","title":{"rendered":"Trump adds $100,000 fee for skilled worker visa applicants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will add a $100,000 (\u00a374,000) fee for applicants to the H-1B visa programme for skilled foreign workers.<\/p>\n

The proclamation mentions \u201cabuse\u201d of the programme and will restrict entry unless payment is made.<\/p>\n

Critics have long argued that H-1Bs undercut the American workforce, while supporters \u2013 including billionaire Elon Musk \u2013 argue it allows the US to attract top talent from around the world.<\/p>\n

In another order, Trump set up a new \u201cgold card\u201d to fast-track visas for certain immigrants in exchange for fees starting at \u00a31m.<\/p>\n

Joining Trump in the Oval Office on Friday was US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.<\/p>\n

\u201cA hundred thousand dollars a year for H1-B visas, and all of the big companies are on board,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve spoken to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to train somebody, you\u2019re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2004, the number of H-1B applications has been capped at 85,000 per year.<\/p>\n

Until now, H-1B visas have carried various administrative fees totalling around $1,500.<\/p>\n

Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that applications for H-1B visas for the next fiscal year fell to about 359,000 \u2013 a four-year low.<\/p>\n

The greatest beneficiary of the programme the previous fiscal year was Amazon, followed by tech giants Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google, according to government statistics.<\/p>\n

Tahmina Watson, a founding attorney at Watson Immigration Law, told the BBC that the ruling could be a \u201cnail in the coffin\u201d for many of her clients that are mostly small businesses and start-ups.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost everyone\u2019s going to be priced out. This $100,000 as an entry point is going to have a devastating impact,\u201d she added, noting that many small or medium-sized companies \u201cwill tell you they actually can\u2019t find workers to do the job\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen employers sponsor foreign talent, more often than not, they\u2019re doing that because they have not been able to fulfil those positions,\u201d Ms Watson added.<\/p>\n

Jorge Lopez, the chair of the immigration and global mobility practice group at Littler Mendelson PC, said a $100,000 fee \u201cwill put the brakes on American competitiveness in the tech sector and all industries\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some companies might consider setting up operations outside the US, though doing so can be challenging in practice, he added.<\/p>\n

The debate over H-1Bs had previously caused splits within Trump\u2019s team and supporters, pitting those in favour of the visas against critics such as former strategist Steve Bannon.<\/p>\n

Trump told reporters at the White House in January that he understands \u201cboth sides of the argument\u201d on H-1Bs.<\/p>\n

The year before \u2013 while seeking to attract support from the tech industry while on the campaign trail \u2013 Trump vowed to make the process of attracting talent easier, going as far as to propose green cards for college graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a pool of people to work for companies,\u201d he told the All-In Podcast. \u201cYou have to be able to recruit these people and keep these people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early in his first term in 2017, Trump signed an executive order that increased scrutiny of H-1B applications, seeking to improve fraud detection.<\/p>\n

Rejections rose to an all-time high of 24% in the 2018 fiscal year, compared to between 5% and 8% under Barack Obama and then between 2% and 4% under Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

At the time, tech companies pushed back, harshly criticising the Trump administration\u2019s H-1B order.<\/p>\n

The potential for additional restrictions to the H-1B programme has caused considerable concern\u00a0in countries such as India\u00a0\u2013 which is by far the largest source country for such visa applications.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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