The Trump administration has said it will ask companies to pay US$100,000 (approximately HK$780,000) per year for H-1B worker visas, potentially dealing a big blow to the technology sector that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China.
Since returning to the White House in January, Donald Trump has kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown, including moves to limit some forms of legal immigration. The step taken on Friday to reshape the H-1B visa program represents his administration's most high-profile effort yet to rework temporary employment visas.
"If you're going to train somebody, you're going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
The fee, taking effect on Sunday, "applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a post on X. "H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would."
She also said that it's a "one-time fee that applies only to the petition."
The H-1B program allows US companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers. US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation raising the fee that companies pay to sponsor H-1B applicants to US$100,000, saying the move is intended to ensure that the United States brings in highly skilled talent whom American workers cannot replace.
Following the announcement, companies such as Microsoft and Amazon have advised H-1B employees to avoid international travel or return to the United States before the policy takes effect, according to media reports.
The policy is expected to significantly raise the cost for companies hiring foreign talent. On Friday, Trump said that companies would rather not pay the new fee, and hiring Americans would serve that purpose. "So there's an incentive to hire American," he said.
Silicon Valley Relies on H-1B Visas, with Indians Making Up Over 70%
US tech companies heavily rely on H-1B visas, with over 60% of the approved H-1B visas each year related to computer occupations. US government data shows that for the 2025 fiscal year, Amazon is the largest employer of H-1B visa holders, while Microsoft, Meta, and Apple also rank among the top companies in terms of H-1B visa employees.
India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71 percent of approved beneficiaries, according to government data.
In the first half of 2025, Amazon.com and its cloud-computing unit, AWS, had received approval for more than 12,000 H-1B visas, while Microsoft and Meta Platforms had over 5,000 H-1B visa approvals each.
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