Trump Imposes $100,000 Fee on Skilled Worker Visa Applications

Mon Oct 20 2025 22:27:50 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a controversial move, President Trump has signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applicants, sparking fierce debate over its implications for skilled labor in the U.S.

President Trump's latest executive order has introduced a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications tailored for skilled workers from abroad. Critics argue this could severely impact American competitiveness and hinder smaller companies from accessing foreign talent. The administration emphasizes curbing 'abuse' of the visa program, yet experts warn that these changes may detrimentally affect the U.S. economy and innovation.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will add a $100,000 (£74,000) fee for applicants to the H-1B visa programme aimed at bringing in skilled workers from abroad into certain industries.

The proclamation mentions abuse of the programme and will restrict entry unless payment is made.

Critics of the programme have long argued that H-1Bs undercut the American workforce, while supporters - including billionaire Elon Musk - argue it allows the US to attract top talent from around the world.

In another order, Trump set up a new gold card to fast-track visas for certain immigrants in exchange for fees starting at £1m.

Joining Trump in the Oval Office on Friday was US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

A hundred thousand dollars a year for H1-B visas, and all of the big companies are on board, he said. We've spoken to them.

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.

Since 2004, the number of H-1B applications has been capped at 85,000 per year.

Until now, H-1B visas have carried various administrative fees totalling around $1,500.

Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that applications for H-1B visas for the next fiscal year fell to about 359,000 - a four-year low.

The greatest beneficiary of the programme the previous fiscal year was Amazon, followed by tech giants Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google, according to government statistics.

Tahmina Watson, a founding attorney at Watson Immigration Law, told the BBC that the ruling could be a nail in the coffin for many of her clients that are mostly small businesses and start-ups.

Almost everyone's going to be priced out. This $100,000 as an entry point is going to have a devastating impact, she added, noting that many small or medium-sized companies will tell you they actually can't find workers to do the job.

Some companies might consider setting up operations outside the US, though doing so can be challenging in practice.

The debate over H-1Bs had previously caused splits within Trump's team and supporters, pitting those in favour of the visas against critics such as former strategist Steve Bannon.

Trump told reporters at the White House in January that he understands both sides of the argument on H-1Bs.

Early in his first term in 2017, Trump signed an executive order that increased scrutiny of H-1B applications, seeking to improve fraud detection.

Rejections rose to an all-time high of 24% in the 2018 fiscal year, compared to between 5% and 8% under Barack Obama and then between 2% and 4% under Joe Biden.

The potential for additional restrictions to the H-1B programme has caused considerable concern in countries such as India - which is by far the largest source country for such visa applications.