Trump administration to impose a $100,000 charge for H-1B visas, however now says it’s going to be a one-time cost

President Donald Trump has signed a brand new government order, which provides a $100,000 charge to H-1B visa functions. However in accordance with White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, it will not be an annual charge because the administration initially mentioned it will be. Throughout the signing on the Oval Workplace on Friday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mentioned a number of instances that the charge could be utilized per yr. In a follow-up X post on Saturday, nonetheless, Leavitt wrote “to be clear,” the charge shouldn’t be annual however “one-time charge that applies solely to the petition.”

The New York Times reported on Friday that the Secretary of Homeland Safety will limit approval for visa functions of people who find themselves “at the moment outdoors the US” except accompanied by the charge, although the rule “permits case-by-case exemptions if [it’s] within the nationwide curiosity.” This new requirement will solely apply to new visa candidates, a White Home official instructed The Occasions, and it’ll doubtless face authorized challenges. If it does get applied, although, it may deal an enormous blow to the tech trade.

In her put up, although, Leavitt mentioned, “Those that already maintain H-1B visas and are at the moment outdoors of the nation proper now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter. H-1B visa holders can depart and re-enter the nation to the identical extent as they usually would; no matter capability they’ve to try this shouldn’t be impacted by yesterday’s proclamation.” She additionally wrote, “This is applicable solely to new visas, not renewals, and never present visa holders. It is going to first apply within the subsequent upcoming lottery cycle.”

Whereas a number of sectors within the US use this system to carry expert employees into the nation, a few of its largest beneficiaries are within the tech sector. In response to the US Citizen and Immigration Services, Amazon has probably the most quantity (over 10,000) of employees on the H-1B visa. Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google are additionally within the prime ten listing of employers that introduced over H-1B employees, with between 4,000 and 5,500 staff on the visa. Walmart, Intel, IBM and NVIDIA have a substantial variety of H-1B employees, as nicely. As TechCrunch has famous, Elon Musk, who was once near the president, came visiting to the US on the H-1B, as did Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger.

Within the White House’s announcement, the administration defined that some employers have abused the H-1B visa to “artificially suppress wages,” making a disadvantageous marketplace for People. “Info expertise (IT) corporations particularly have prominently manipulated the H-1B system, considerably harming American employees in computer-related fields,” the announcement learn.

Trump has additionally signed an order for a brand new visa program referred to as the “Gold Card,” which the administration says will prioritize “the admission of aliens who will affirmatively profit the Nation, together with profitable entrepreneurs, buyers, and businessmen and ladies.” It is an expedited immigrant visa program, obtainable to anyone who can afford the “requisite present” the federal government asks for. Particularly, the present made to the US Division of Commerce have to be “$1 million for a person donating on his or her personal behalf and $2 million for a company or related entity donating on behalf of a person.”

Replace, September 21, 2025 10:11AM ET: This text has been up to date to replicate new data from White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt strolling again the administration’s preliminary declare that the charge could be utilized per yr. Leavitt now says it is not going to be annual.