President Trump has significantly raised the cost for businesses wishing to employ foreign professionals under the H-1B program. On Friday, the White House revealed that Trump had signed a proclamation mandating a substantial $100,000 fee for each new H-1B visa request—a dramatic increase from the previous $215 lottery registration charge.
H-1B visas enable American companies to employ international talent in specialized fields such as information technology, engineering, mathematics, and healthcare. The program allows for a maximum of 65,000 new visas each year, with an extra 20,000 available to foreign nationals with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions. These visas, distributed via a lottery system, are usually valid for three years and can be extended or used as a pathway to permanent residency.
The administration says the new regulation aims to address what it describes as widespread misuse of the system, claiming it contributes to job losses for American workers. White House data shows that the proportion of information technology workers on H-1B visas has risen from 32% in 2003 to over 65% today, while unemployment among recent computer science graduates has reached 6.1%.
The tech industry in Silicon Valley is expected to strongly oppose these changes, since the program has played a key role in nurturing some of the region’s leading companies.
Elon Musk, who has been a close associate of Trump for much of this year, originally entered the U.S. as a student and worked on an H-1B visa. Last December, responding on X to someone critical of the H-1B system, Musk wrote, “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B. Take a big step back and F*** YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”
Mike Krieger, who co-founded Instagram and now serves as Chief Product Officer at AI giant Anthropic, is another example of this pathway to success. The Stanford-educated Brazilian national was employed by Meebo, an early instant messaging company, through the H-1B program.
Earlier this year, the National Venture Capital Association submitted a letter to the National Science Foundation, stating, “Raising the annual cap of H-1B visas issued each year to educated and highly skilled immigrants who work in jobs that require a substantial amount of technical and specialized training is fundamental to generating more successful immigrant-founded companies.”
The NVCA added that, while “H-1B visas are not ideal for immigrants who want to immediately found companies in the U.S., they are still critically important for the success of immigrant founded companies because they provide valuable work experience and widen the pipeline of potential immigrant startup founders.” (Because H-1B visas require a strict employer-employee relationship, founders cannot usually get them directly, meaning they must spend years working for others before securing green cards and launching their own businesses. When Krieger tried to co-found Instagram in 2010, transferring his visa was a months-long process, and he has said he almost gave up on the startup due to these hurdles.)
On Friday, tech leaders on X were already cautioning that top talent might leave for countries with more welcoming immigration policies. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have reportedly advised their H-1B employees to stay in the U.S. and not travel abroad at this time.
In its Friday proclamation, the Trump administration sharply criticized the H-1B system, singling out companies that have brought in thousands of H-1B workers while laying off American staff. According to a White House fact sheet, one unidentified company was authorized to hire 5,189 H-1B employees this fiscal year even as it eliminated approximately 16,000 jobs in the United States.
The proclamation—which the administration says is partly intended to “protect our national security”—does allow for some flexibility, with possible exemptions considered on a case-by-case basis if they serve the national interest.
It also instructs the Labor Secretary to update wage standards in order to prevent foreign workers from being paid less than their American counterparts.
This article has been revised to reflect new information on the responses from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.
