President Trump on Friday unveiled a sweeping order that dramatically raises the cost of hiring foreign talent under the H-1B visa program, imposing a $100,000 surcharge on every application. The executive order, which also bars entry for recipients unable to cover the fee, amounts to the most significant financial barrier the program has faced since its creation, according to multiple reports.
“We’re going to be able to keep people in our country that are going to be very productive people, and in many cases these companies are going to pay a lot of money for that, and they’re very happy about it,” Mr. Trump said.
The move, first reported by Bloomberg News, lands hardest on technology giants such as Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, Apple, and Google, whose business models depend heavily on recruiting international specialists. Even before this order, filing costs ran from about $1,700 to $4,500, depending on processing speed—fees that sponsoring companies typically absorbed.
The program has long drawn controversy. Critics argue it all
ows corporations to sidestep American wages, filling positions with foreign workers at lower cost and, at times, using visas for jobs that require little specialized expertise. The Department of Labor reported Amazon again led all employers in H-1B approvals last year, securing more than 10,000. Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple, and Google followed.
Administration officials defended the overhaul. “This will ensure that the people they’re bringing in are actually very highly skilled and that they’re not replaceable by American workers,” a White House spokesperson said. “So it’ll protect American workers, but ensure that companies have a pathway to hire truly extraordinary people and bring them to the United States.”
Others see danger in the price tag. Stuart Anderson, director of the National Foundation for American Policy, warned that the surcharge could push firms to relocate high-value jobs abroad. “The second impact will further decrease the number of international students who have an interest in coming to study in the U.S. If there’s no opportunity work in the U.S., it’s much less likely they’ll enroll in U.S. programs,” Anderson told CBS News.
Software developers remain the single largest group of H-1B beneficiaries. Candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and secure an American job offer before entering a lottery that caps approvals at 65,000 annually, with 20,000 more for advanced-degree holders. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says allocations for fiscal 2026 are already exhausted.
The order also directs the Labor Department to revise wage rules that govern the program. At present, employers must pay whichever is higher: the prevailing wage in the field or what they would pay comparable U.S. workers. Analysts describe the H-1B as the most competitive visa class in the country; only about 20 percent of applications result in approvals.
