President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order, which adds a $100,000 fee to H-1B visa applications. It’s not a one-time fee either: The New York Times has reported that companies will have to pay $100,000 a year for any employee it brings over to the US on the visa for up to six years. The Secretary of Homeland Security will restrict approval for visa applications of people who are “currently outside the United States” unless accompanied by the fee, though the rule “allows case-by-case exemptions if [it’s] in the national interest.” This new requirement will only apply to new visa applicants, a White House official told The Times, and it will likely face legal challenges. If it does get implemented, though, it could deal a huge blow to the tech industry.
While several sectors in the US use the program to bring skilled workers into the country, some of its biggest beneficiaries are in the tech sector. According to the US Citizen and Immigration Services, Amazon has the most number (over 10,000) of workers on the H-1B visa. Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google are also in the top ten list of employers that brought over H-1B workers, with between 4,000 and 5,500 employees on the visa. Walmart, Intel, IBM and NVIDIA have a considerable number of H-1B workers, as well. As TechCrunch has noted, Elon Musk, who used to be close to the president, came over to the US on the H-1B, as did Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger.
In the White House’s announcement, the administration explained that some employers have abused the H-1B visa to “artificially suppress wages,” creating a disadvantageous market for Americans. “Information technology (IT) firms in particular have prominently manipulated the H-1B system, significantly harming American workers in computer-related fields,” the announcement read.
Trump has also signed an order for a new visa program called the “Gold Card,” which the administration says will prioritize “the admission of aliens who will affirmatively benefit the Nation, including successful entrepreneurs, investors, and businessmen and women.” It’s an expedited immigrant visa program, available to anybody who can afford the “requisite gift” the government asks for. Specifically, the gift made to the US Department of Commerce must be “$1 million for an individual donating on his or her own behalf and $2 million for a corporation or similar entity donating on behalf of an individual.”
