A White House official told Axios recent changes to H-1B set to go into effect on Sunday do not apply to everyone. The news organization reports the $100,000 fee will not be applied to existing holders of valid visas re-entering the country.
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President Donald Trump signed the order on Friday. The president believes it will incentivize companies to train American workers for these types of jobs while still providing a pathway to bring in skilled foreign workers.
“If you’re going to train somebody, you’re gonna train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land,” Trump said. “Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs.”
The move is the latest effort by the Trump administration to control immigration and will likely face legal pushback.
Cost to employers
That new fee will add a premium for companies to bring in workers on the H-1B visa.
Foreign skilled workers make an average salary of $119,000 per year, and this new plan nearly doubles that cost.
Nearly 400,000 H-1B applications were approved in fiscal year 2024.
If the United States gets that same number of applicants under the new program, that means $40 billion in federal revenue from businesses.
Those visas are also good for three years. The administration hasn’t decided if it will require yearly payments or just charge the $300,000 upfront.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the new plan came after they spoke with companies but did not say which ones.
Just last week, Trump tried to reassure foreign investors that the U.S. was open for business following a raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia.
That raid ended with hundreds of South Korean workers being detained, many of whom had the H-1B visa.
Construction of that $7 billion plant has now been suspended until at least 2026.
