The administration has argued the hefty new fee on visas for highly skilled foreign workers will encourage companies to instead hire American workers amid an ongoing push to steeply curb immigration.
However, experts warn the move may have unintended consequences for the American tech sector.
“It’s going to be a big blow to the industry and will result in less innovation, less output, less economic growth in the United States,” said David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute.
Trump signed a proclamation Friday increasing the H-1B visa fee to $100,000. It previously cost between $2,000 and $5,000, according to NBC News.
“No more will these Big Tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said alongside the president in the Oval Office. “They have to pay the government $100,000. Then they have to pay the employee. So, it’s just not economic.”
“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, that’s our policy here,” he added.
Tech companies are particularly dependent on the H-1B program. Amazon was the top recipient of new H-1B approvals in fiscal year 2024, according to data from the National Foundation for American Policy.
The information technology (IT) firms Cognizant and Infosys were the second and third highest recipients.
Also in the top 25 were IBM, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Apple, Intel and Tesla, the data shows.
“H-1Bs are the primary pathway through which skilled workers, skilled immigrations come to work in the U.S. economy essentially,” said Adam Ozimek, chief economist at the Economic Innovation Group, adding, “It’s a really important source of innovative, skilled workers.”
Check out the full report at TheHill.com tomorrow.
