Trump adding $100K fee to H1-B visa applications in latest crackdown on foreign workers
WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order Friday adding an annual fee of $100,000 to all H1-B visa applications.
The move marks the latest crackdown by the administration on migrants coming into the US for job opportunities, and is likely intended to limit visa applicants to those from higher financial brackets.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the idea behind the order is to have American companies hire and train US workers, instead of hiring foreign ones.
The policy would apply to all H1-B visa holders, including those seeking to renew their status, he said.
“If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs,” Lutnick said.
“Either the person is very valuable to the company and America, or they’re going to depart and the company is going to hire an American.”
Trump signed a second EO allowing those willing to pay $1 million to get expedited treatment on visa applications for his “Gold Card.”
Corporations that want to sponsor an applicant for a “Gold Card” will have to pay $2 million.
“The Gold Card will be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars, and companies will be able to keep some people that they need,” Trump said.
“You know, they need people of expertise, great expertise, and it’s good. I think it’s going to be a fantastic thing. And we’re going to take that money, and we’re going to reduce taxes, we’re going to reduce debt.”
The administration views the current H1-B visa program — which admits hundreds of thousands of workers into the US each year — as a way for companies to exploit lower-wage employees, ultimately impacting US salaries.
The White House is particularly concerned with US students shunning STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields due to foreign competition and views the presence of foreign workers as a national security threat, according to Bloomberg, which first reported on the order.
