According to a Bloomberg report, President Donald Trump is expected to sign a proclamation as soon as Friday that would overhaul the H-1B visa program by imposing a $100,000 application fee, a White House official said.
The action marks the administration’s latest move on immigration policy and will particularly impact the technology sector, which depends heavily on H-1B visas.
Officials argue the changes will bring more certainty to legitimate applications by “weeding out abuses.”
From Bloomberg:
In a fact sheet set seen by Bloomberg News, the White House said American workers are being replaced with lower-paid foreign labor and called it a national security threat. The dynamic is suppressing wages and disincentivizing Americans from choosing careers in STEM fields, the White House said.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the $100,000 figure was in addition to, or inclusive of, existing fees that are much more modest.
Fees directly tied to the H-1B visa application currently include a $215 fee to register for the lottery and a $780 fee for a Form I-129, which is a petition for a non-immigrant worker that is filed by an employer sponsor.
H-1B visas are awarded based on a lottery system, but Bloomberg News has reported previously that flaws in the system create loopholes that some employers exploit by flooding the lottery with entries.
Unlike large tech firms these companies often use the visa program to hire lower-paid workers — and do so indirectly, through staffing and outsourcing companies that capture about half of the 85,000 new visas allocated each year.
More over at Bloomberg:
Trump to Add New $100,000 Fee for H-1B Visas in Latest Crackdownhttps://t.co/Xkxytm0NXY
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 19, 2025
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