President Donald Trump on Friday introduced that the payment employers should pay for an H-1B visa can be raised to $100,000.
Firms scrambled to reply, CNBC reported Saturday, and social media customers are posting about what this variation means for H-1B visa employees.
This is a breakdown of the brand new H-1B charges:
What did Trump change?
As of Sunday, H-1B visa functions would require a $100,000 cost. Beforehand, visa charges ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 per utility, relying on the scale of the corporate, in accordance with the Immigration Legislation Group.
Employers now should have documentation of the cost previous to submitting an H-1B petition on behalf of a employee. Candidates could have their petitions restricted for 12 months till the cost is made, in accordance with the White Home.
Who does this have an effect on?
The payment can be utilized solely to new H-1B candidates, not renewals or present visa holders, and can be applied within the upcoming lottery cycle, in accordance with White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Those that have already got H-1B visas and are situated exterior the U.S. is not going to be required to pay the payment in an effort to reenter, she stated.
Leavitt additionally clarified that the $100,000 is a one-time cost and never an annual cost, after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated Friday that the payment can be annual.
Exceptions may be made for any immigrant whose employment is deemed important within the nationwide curiosity by the Secretary of Homeland Safety and doesn’t pose a menace to the safety or welfare of the U.S., in accordance with the White Home.
Workers with B visas who’ve begin dates previous to October 2026 will obtain further steerage in an effort to stop these short-term enterprise visas getting used as a workaround for H-1B visas, the White Home stated.
Who’re these employees and why are they wanted?
H-1B visas are designed to enable extremely expert overseas professionals to work in specialty occupations when employers cannot discover certified American employees to fill the roles. Many roles within the fields of science, know-how, engineering and math, or STEM, that usually require no less than a bachelor’s diploma qualify.
Firms within the tech and finance sectors rely closely on these specifically expert immigrants, significantly from India and China, which accounted for 71% and 11.7% of visa holders final 12 months, respectively, in accordance with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers.
What number of H-1B visas does the tech business use yearly?
The present annual cap for H-1B visas is 65,000, together with a further 20,000 visas for overseas professionals with a grasp’s diploma or doctorate from a U.S. establishment, in accordance with USCIS. A lottery system is used to pick further petitions if demand exceeds the cap.
Since 2012, about 60% or extra of authorized H-1B employees had computer-related jobs, in accordance with Pew Analysis.
Amazon was the highest employer for H-1B holders in fiscal 12 months 2025, sponsoring greater than 10,000 candidates by the top of June, in accordance with USCIS. Microsoft, Meta and IT firm Tata Consulting Providers had greater than 5,000 every, whereas Apple and Google rounded out the highest six with greater than 4,000 approvals every.
WATCH: CoreWeave CEO on H-1B visas: Further payment is ‘sand within the gears’ for entry to expertise
