‘Valuable People Only For America’: Trump Announces USD 100,000 Annual H1-B Visa Fee In Latest Move To Crack Down On Immigration
**New York:** In a move that could significantly impact Indian professionals on visas in the US, President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation to raise the fee for H1-B visas to a staggering USD 100,000 annually. This is the latest measure in the administration’s ongoing efforts to tighten immigration policies.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf described the H1-B non-immigrant visa program as one of the “most abused visa” systems in the current US immigration framework. The program is intended to allow highly skilled laborers, especially those working in fields where Americans are less represented, to come into the United States.
The Trump administration stated that the $100,000 fee aims to ensure that individuals entering the country under this program are “actually very highly skilled” and do not displace American workers.
### About The Move
The move is designed to protect American workers while ensuring that companies retain a pathway to hire “truly extraordinary people” and bring them to the United States. Under the H1-B visa program, companies pay to sponsor applicants.
“We need workers. We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump said as he signed the proclamation in the Oval Office, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick present.
Lutnick highlighted some statistics about the previous employment-based Green Card program, saying, “Historically, it let in 281,000 people a year, and these individuals earned an average of USD 66,000 annually and were five times more likely to participate in government assistance programs. So we were taking in the bottom quartile—below the average American. It was illogical; we were the only country accepting the bottom quartile.”
He emphasized that the new initiative will “stop doing that” and instead focus on accepting only extraordinary people at the very top—those who will create businesses and jobs for Americans. Lutnick added that the program is expected to raise more than USD 100 billion for the United States Treasury.
President Trump also noted that the revenue generated will be used to cut taxes and pay down national debt. “We think it’s going to be very successful,” he said.
Lutnick clarified that the USD 100,000 fee will be charged annually.
### Impact on Indian Technology Workers
This policy shift is set to significantly impact Indian technology workers employed by tech companies and others under H1-B visas. These visas are valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. If a company sponsors an employee for a Green Card, the visas can be renewed until permanent residency is granted.
However, Indians on work visas in the US currently face a decades-long wait for Green Cards. The new fee could affect whether they can continue to stay in the US if their employers decide not to pay the USD 100,000 annual fee now required to maintain these visas.
Lutnick commented, “The whole idea is no more training foreign workers for free by big tech or other large companies. They have to pay the government USD 100,000, then pay the employee. It’s just not economical. If you’re going to train somebody, train recent graduates from one of our great universities—train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs. That’s the policy here. And all the big companies are on board. We’ve spoken to them about it.”
President Trump echoed these sentiments, stating, “The tech companies love it. They really love it. They need it. The main thing is, we’re going to have great people coming in.”
### Executive Order ‘The Gold Card’
In addition to this proclamation, President Trump signed an executive order entitled ‘The Gold Card,’ establishing a new visa pathway for foreigners of extraordinary ability who are committed to supporting the United States.
Under the Gold Card program, individuals who pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if sponsored by a corporation, will gain access to expedited visa processing and a path to a Green Card.
Trump said, “We’re taking in hundreds of billions of dollars. The Gold Card will be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars, and companies will be able to keep some people they need—people with great expertise. I think it’s going to be a fantastic thing, and we’re going to take that money and reduce taxes and debt.”
When asked if the new USD 100,000 fee applies to current H1-B visa holders in the US or only to new applicants, Lutnick responded, “Renewals, first-time applicants—the company needs to decide. Is that person valuable enough to justify a USD 100,000 annual payment to the government, or should they head home so the company can hire an American instead?”
He added, “It can be a total of six years, so USD 100,000 a year. Either the person is very valuable to the company and America, or they’re going to depart, and the company is going to hire an American. That’s the point of immigration—hire Americans and ensure the people coming in are the top, top people. Stop the nonsense of giving away these visas for free. The president is crystal clear: valuable people only for America.”
Regarding reactions from technology CEOs who hire foreign workers on H1-B visas, President Trump said, “They’re going to be very happy. Everyone’s going to be happy. We’re going to keep people in our country who will be very productive. Often, these companies will pay a lot of money for that, and they’re very happy about it.”
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*Note: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.*
https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/valuable-people-only-for-america-trump-announces-usd-100000-annual-h1-b-visa-fee-in-latest-move-to-crack-down-on-immigration
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