Trump Management Imposes New Fees onโ H-1B Visa Applications
WASHINGTON – President Trump signed a proclamation adding a considerable new fee to applications โขfor H-1B visas,a move โaimed at โincreasingโข costs for companies relying on foreign workers and prioritizing American labor. The fee, reportedly around โ$100,000 per application, is intended to fund Americanโ workerโค training programs, โaccording to โadministration officials.
The action comes amid ongoing debate over the H-1B visa โprogram, which allows U.S.โ employers โto temporarily employโ foreign workers โคin specialtyโค occupations. Historically,โฃ these visas have been distributed through a lottery system. In 2024, lottery bids for the visas plunged nearly 40%, attributed โby authorities to increased success in combating individuals “gaming the โsystem” with multiple applications.โฃ
This year, amazon โฃreceived the most H-1B โvisas, exceedingโ 10,000, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, apple, โand Google. California hosts the largest โnumber โof H-1B workers.
The new feesโ and aโค proposed “gold card” for โH-1B holders could be implemented โby the president, while โฃa “platinum card” โrequiring higher qualifications would โnecessitate congressional approval, according to immigration attorney โDavid โLutnick.
critics of โขthe H-1B โฃprogram argue it oftenโ fills entry-level positions rather than roles requiring specialized skills. Concerns also exist that companies exploit the program by classifying jobs at lower skill levelsโค to reduce labor costs, possibly undercutting U.S. wages and displacingโค American workers. As an โinevitable result, some โU.S. companies outsource โคtasks โto โconsultingโฃ firms like Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies,โ Tata (in India), and IBMโ and Cognizant โ(in the U.S.),โฃ which then hire foreignโ workers, often from India.
Rand Paul, a โSenator, characterized the move asโ a “service for immigration restrictionists,”โ suggestingโข the Trump administrationโ prioritizes headlines and immediate impact over long-term legal viability.
The AFL-CIO has โadvocatedโค for awardingโ visas to companies โoffering the highestโ wages, a โขreform previously sought by โขTrump during his first term.While recentโ changes to โthe lottery system-limiting each employee โto one entry-were โwelcomedโ by โcritics, the labor group maintains further reforms are necessary.
Notably, Firstโข lady Melania trump, born inโข Slovenia, was herself granted an H-1B visa in October 1996 to work as a โขmodel.