Trump imposes $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday, imposing a new annual fee of $100,000 on H-1B visa applicants. The White House said the program, designed to bring in highly skilled temporary workers, has been “deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.”

The order argued that widespread abuse of H-1B visas has suppressed wages and displaced US employees, particularly in critical science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

“We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump said in the Oval Office. The order, effective September 21, bars entry under the H-1B program unless the payment is received.

According to the administration, the number of foreign STEM workers in the U.S. more than doubled from 1.2 million in 2000 to nearly 2.5 million in 2019, while overall STEM employment grew 44.5 percent. In computer and math occupations, the foreign share of the workforce rose from 17.7 percent to 26.1 percent during that period.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the measure is intended to pressure companies to prioritize American workers over foreigners.

“A hundred thousand dollars a year for H-1B visas, and all of the big companies are on board. We’ve spoken to them,” Lutnick said during a White House briefing. “If you’re going to train somebody, you’re 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.”

The H-1B visa previously carried fees of about $1,500. Tech giants such as Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Google, and Amazon have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the program. India has accounted for 71 percent of approved applications, followed by China at 11.7 percent.

In addition to the new H-1B fee, Trump introduced the “Gold Card” visa, which offers expedited processing for applicants paying $1 million. Corporations sponsoring Gold Card applicants must pay $2 million.

“The Gold Card will be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars, and companies will be able to keep some people that they need,” Trump said. “You know, they need people of expertise, great expertise, and it’s good. I think it’s going to be a fantastic thing. And we’re going to take that money, and we’re going to reduce taxes, we’re going to reduce debt.”