White House Clarifies $100K H-1B Visa Fee, Exempting Current Holders
WASHINGTON โฃ- โTheโ Biden governance has clarified that a proposed $100,000 fee for certain H-1B visa applications will not apply to existing โH-1B visa holders, according to recentโ statements. The โฃfee, initially announced as part โof โฃa broader plan to fund border security and overhaul โขimmigration pathways, sparked concern among tech companies and workers alreadyโข in the U.S.
The proposedโฃ fee โฃstructure, unveiled alongside โคplans for “Trump โPlatinum Cards” โขaimed atโ attracting foreign investment,โข seeks to shift the financial โburden of border enforcement onto companies utilizing the H-1B visa program. The Trump Platinum Card, priced at $5 million, woudl grant foreigners up โtoโ 270 days โคin the U.S.โฃ without U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income, while a $5 million gold card would replace existing employment-based visas.
These cards,proposed โby Lutnick,would perhaps replace employment-based visas currently available to โฃprofessionals like โคprofessors,scientists,artists,and athletes. The move has drawn praise from groups like U.S. Techโ Workers, who called it “the next best thing” to abolishing theโ H-1B visas altogether, arguing they displace American workers.
Though, โthe โproposed fee increase has faced legal challenges. Doug Rand, a senior official at U.S. โขCitizenship andโค Immigration โServices duringโฃ the โขBiden administration, labeled the fee “ludicrously lawless,” โcharacterizingโข it โasโฃ “fan serviceโ for immigration restrictionists” unlikelyโ to withstand legal scrutiny. Rand stated, “Trump gets his headlines, and inflicts a jolt ofโข panic, and doesn’tโ care whether this survives โfirst contact with the courts.”
Historically, H-1B visas haveโ been allocatedโ thru a lottery โsystem. This year, Amazon โขreceivedโ the most H-1B visas,โ exceeding 10,000, followedโ by Tata โฃConsultancy, Microsoft,โข Apple, andโฃ Google. California hosts the largest concentration of H-1Bโค workers. โข
Critics contendโข that โคH-1B visas are often granted forโ entry-level positions, โฃrather than roles โขrequiring specialized skills.โ Concerns also exist that companies exploit the program by classifying jobs at lower skill levels to reduce labor costs, potentially undercutting โU.S. wages. This hasโ led many U.S. companies to โฃoutsource tasks โto โคconsulting firms like Wipro, Infosys,โ HCL Technologies, Tata, IBM, and Cognizant, which then hire foreign workers, frequently enough from India, and contract them โขout to โU.S.employers.