President Donald Trump signed an government action on Friday to impose a $100,000 utility fee for H-1B visas — in an effort to curb what his administration says is overuse of this system.
“We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump stated from the Oval Office, the place officers detailed how the measure would incentivize corporations to make use of American staff whereas nonetheless offering a pathway to rent extremely expert international staff in specialised fields.
The proclamation will prohibit entry beneath this system except accompanied by the fee.
In a separate order, Trump additionally directed the creation of a “gold card” immigration pathway that he stated would fast-track visas for sure immigrants in change for a hefty fee. The coverage will expedite visas for foreigners who pay the US $1 million, whereas permitting an organization to pay $2 million to hurry up the method for a international employee that it sponsors.
The strikes mark the most recent in a sequence of efforts from the administration to crack down on immigration and place sharp new limits on the varieties of foreigners allowed into the nation. They threaten to considerably influence industries that rely closely on H-1B staff.
The H-1B visa is a piece visa that’s legitimate for 3 years and will be renewed for an additional three years. Economists have argued this system permits US corporations to keep up competitiveness and develop their enterprise, creating extra jobs in the US.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick advised reporters on a name Friday night that the administration got here to the fee of $100,000 per yr, plus vetting prices, after speaking with corporations.
He famous that the fee construction remains to be beneath dialogue with the Department of Homeland Security, in phrases of “whether we’re going to charge the $300,000 up front or $100,000 a year for the three years.”
Trump’s stance on the H-1B visa program has fluctuated, and the difficulty has sharply divided his supporters at occasions.
The president restricted access to international employee visas throughout his first time period and has focused the H-1B program in previous remarks – however in the course of the 2024 marketing campaign, he signaled openness to giving some foreign-born staff authorized standing in the event that they graduated from a US college.
Trump additionally defended the program final December, telling the New York Post that he’s “a believer in H-1B.”
“I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump advised the information outlet on the time.
Trump’s remarks got here after entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump initially tapped to steer the Department of Government Efficiency, defended this system, igniting sharp criticism from MAGA loyalists hoping to limit immigration.
65,000 H-1B visas are granted yearly, with one other 20,000 reserved only for individuals who maintain superior levels from US larger training establishments. Demand for the visa typically exceeds the provision, triggering a lottery system.
Many corporations use H-1B visas to assist fill their workforces. But tech is the sector mostly related to H-1Bs. Tech companies large and small say they want the H-1B program to rent skilled expertise that they will’t discover at dwelling.
Trump has beforehand opposed the H-1B visa program as a part of his platform to encourage US corporations to prioritize American labor over hiring international staff. During his 2016 marketing campaign, Trump accused US corporations of utilizing H-1B visas “for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.”
In 2020, Trump restricted entry to H-1B visas on a number of events, a part of his administration’s effort to curb authorized immigration whereas responding to the altering financial circumstances introduced on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The so-called gold card program that Trump additionally unveiled can be designed to overtake the nation’s posture towards international staff, aiming to tip the steadiness of immigrants towards entrepreneurs and excessive earners.
A brainchild of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, this system will velocity entry for foreigners who can afford the $1 million fee — or get their employer to pay twice as a lot to sponsor them. In the Oval Office on Friday, Lutnick criticized the present inexperienced card course of for immigrants in search of to stay and work completely in the US, arguing it resulted in the nation taking in the “bottom quartile” of staff from overseas.
“We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top,” Lutnick stated of the gold card program.
This headline and story have been up to date with extra developments.