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**Trump Administration Proposes $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee, Sending Shockwaves Through Tech and Global Business Communities**
On Friday night, President Donald Trump announced a dramatic policy change that could reshape the future of America’s high-skilled workforce: the introduction of a $100,000 application fee for new H-1B visa applicants. The move, which would take effect with the upcoming application cycle, marks the Trump administration’s most aggressive step yet in restricting legal immigration, particularly targeting the high-skilled technology and finance sectors that have long depended on foreign talent.
The H-1B visa program, established in 1990, allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring advanced knowledge and expertise, most commonly in fields such as technology, engineering, and finance. Each year, tens of thousands of highly skilled professionals, primarily from India and China, compete for these coveted visas, which have become a critical pipeline for American companies seeking to maintain their global competitiveness.
**Details of the New Fee**
According to a White House official familiar with the policy, the new $100,000 fee will apply only to new H-1B applicants. It will not affect those seeking to renew their existing visas, nor will it apply to current visa holders. Additionally, the administration clarified that the fee is a one-time charge, not an annual or recurring payment, correcting earlier reports that had caused confusion among employers and potential applicants. The policy will be implemented beginning with the next H-1B lottery cycle, but will not retroactively affect individuals who have already secured visas in the 2025 lottery.
The announcement was delivered late on Friday, catching both the business world and foreign governments off guard. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for further comment, leaving many questions unanswered about how the fee would be administered and whether there would be any exceptions or waivers.
**Impact on Technology and Finance Sectors**
The proposed fee has sent shockwaves through the country’s largest technology and finance companies, which are among the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa program. For years, firms such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta (formerly Facebook), Apple, and Google have relied on H-1B visas to fill critical positions that require specialized skills often in short supply among U.S. workers.
In the most recent fiscal year, Amazon led the list of H-1B employers, with over 14,000 H-1B holders on its payroll. Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google each employed more than 4,000 H-1B workers, making them some of the largest recipients of new visas. For these companies, the proposed $100,000 fee would represent a substantial new cost—potentially forcing a reassessment of their hiring practices, talent pipelines, and even their ability to compete globally.
Smaller technology startups and mid-sized firms, which often operate with tighter margins than the tech giants, could be hit even harder. The high fee may effectively price them out of the market for foreign talent, exacerbating existing talent shortages and potentially stifling innovation.
Financial firms, which also rely on H-1B workers for roles in quantitative analysis, software development, and risk management, are similarly concerned. The combination of a tight domestic labor market and the new financial hurdle could make it significantly more difficult to attract the talent needed to maintain competitiveness in a rapidly evolving global marketplace.
**White House Justification and Political Context**
The Trump administration has defended the move as an essential step in protecting American workers. In a statement to CNBC, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers argued that the new fee would discourage companies from “spamming the system” with multiple applications and from using the H-1B program as a way to drive down wages for U.S. workers. “President Trump promised to put American workers first, and this commonsense action does just that,” Rogers said. She added that the policy would give certainty to American businesses that “actually want to bring high-skilled workers to our great country but have been trampled on by abuses of the system.”
Since taking office, President Trump has pursued a broad crackdown on both illegal and legal immigration, framing the issue as central to his “America First” economic agenda. Previous measures have included travel bans, increased scrutiny of student and work visas, and efforts to reduce the number