President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday imposing a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas in an effort to reduce what his administration claims is overuse of the program.
“We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump said from the Oval Office, where officials explained how the measure would incentivize companies to hire American workers while also providing a path to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialized fields.
The proclamation will limit entry into the program unless accompanied by payment.
In a separate order, Trump directed the creation of a “gold card” immigration pathway, which he claimed would expedite visas for certain immigrants in exchange for a significant fee. The policy will expedite visas for foreigners who pay US $1 million, while a company can pay $2 million to speed up the process for a foreign worker it sponsors.
The moves are the latest in a series of efforts by the administration to crack down on immigration and impose strict new restrictions on the types of foreigners permitted entry into the country. They pose a significant risk to industries that rely heavily on H-1B workers.
The H-1B visa is a work visa that is valid for three years and can be extended for another three. Economists argue that the program allows US companies to remain competitive and grow their businesses, thereby creating more jobs in the United States.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters on a call Friday evening that the administration decided on the $100,000 annual fee, plus vetting costs, after consulting with companies.
He stated that the payment structure is still being discussed with the Department of Homeland Security, specifically “whether we’re going to charge the $300,000 up front or $100,000 per year for three years.”
Trump’s position on the H-1B visa program has shifted, and the issue has occasionally divided his supporters.
During his first term, the president restricted access to foreign worker visas and has previously targeted the H-1B program; however, during the 2024 campaign, he signaled an openness to providing legal status to some foreign-born workers who graduated from a US university.
Trump also defended the program in December, telling the New York Post that he is “a believer in H-1B.”
“I’ve always liked visas. I’ve always supported visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump told the news organization at the time.
Trump’s comments came after entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump initially appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, defended the program, eliciting sharp criticism from MAGA supporters who want to limit immigration.
65,000 H-1B visas are granted each year, with an additional 20,000 reserved solely for people with advanced degrees from US higher education institutions. Demand for the visa frequently exceeds supply, resulting in a lottery system.
Many companies use H-1B visas to supplement their workforce. However, the technology sector is most commonly associated with H-1Bs. Large and small tech companies say they need the H-1B program to hire skilled workers who cannot be found at home.
Trump has previously opposed the H-1B visa program as part of his campaign to encourage US companies to hire American workers over foreign workers. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump accused US companies of using H-1B visas “for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.”
In 2020, Trump limited access to H-1B visas on several occasions as part of his administration’s effort to reduce legal immigration while responding to the changing economic conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The so-called gold card program, which Trump also unveiled, is intended to change the country’s attitude toward foreign workers by shifting the balance of immigrants toward entrepreneurs and high earners.
The program, the brainchild of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, will expedite entry for foreigners who can afford the $1 million fee — or convince their employer to pay twice as much to sponsor them. On Friday, Lutnick criticized the current green card process for immigrants seeking to live and work permanently in the United States, claiming that it has resulted in the country accepting the “bottom quartile” of foreign workers.
“We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top,” Lutnick said about the gold card program.
