“Is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000-a-year payment to the government, or they should head home, and they should go hire an American.” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that when the White House announced a new $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, and added that “all of the big companies are on board.”
President Donald Trump signed the executive order, which cites “abuse” of the programme and restricts entry unless the fee is paid. It was due to take effect on 21 September and applies only to new requests.
Which fee, and for whom
Lutnick first said companies would pay every year for six years. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later said it is a one-time payment. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that the fee “does not apply to anyone who has a current visa” and applies only to future applicants in the February 2026 lottery who are outside the US. Current visa holders can still travel in and out of the country.
Until now the visas carried administrative fees of around $1,500 in total. Since 2004, H-1B applications have been capped at 85,000 a year. Applications for the next fiscal year had already fallen to about 359,000, a four-year low, according to USCIS data.
Amazon was the biggest beneficiary of the programme the previous fiscal year, followed by Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google. Late on Friday, Amazon told H-1B employees already in the US to stay put. An internal advisory seen by Business Insider told those abroad to “try to return before tomorrow’s deadline if possible,” and those who could not make it to avoid re-entry until further guidance.
Reaction
India’s trade body Nasscom said the one-day deadline created “considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world.” India received 71% of approved H-1B applications last year, Reuters reported, with China second at 11.7%.
Immigration lawyer Tahmina Watson said many of her clients are small businesses and start-ups. “Almost everyone’s going to be priced out,” she told the BBC. Employers sponsor foreign workers, she said, because they could not fill the jobs otherwise. Jorge Lopez of Littler Mendelson said the fee “will put the brakes on American competitiveness in the tech sector and all industries,” and that moving operations abroad is possible but hard.
An old split
Critics have long argued H-1Bs undercut American workers. Supporters, Elon Musk among them, say the programme draws top talent. The argument has divided Trump’s own team and supporters, with former strategist Steve Bannon on the critical side.
Trump has swung both ways. In 2017, early in his first term, he signed an order increasing scrutiny of H-1B applications. Rejections hit a record 24% in fiscal 2018, against 5% to 8% under Barack Obama and 2% to 4% under Joe Biden. While campaigning, he told the All-In Podcast, “You need a pool of people to work for companies,” and floated green cards for college graduates. In January he said he understands “both sides of the argument.”
