In the code-filled corridors of America’s tech giants, a new overhaul took place as President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month imposing a $100,000 payment on certain H-1B visa petitions. The order addresses what the administration describes as “systemic abuse” of the program that has led to the “large-scale replacement of American workers” with lower-paid foreign labor.
The H1B visa is a U.S. work visa that allows companies to hire skilled foreign workers for specialized jobs, such as technology or engineering positions, for up to six years. It’s designed for professionals with at least a bachelor’s degree and there’s a yearly cap on how many can be issued.
The Trump administration has stated in the White House fact sheet that it “artificially suppress wages” and disadvantages U.S. citizens, particularly in STEM fields where the number of foreign workers doubled from 1.2 million in 2000 to 2.5 million in 2019, while overall STEM employment grew by only 44.5 percent, according to the White House Fact Sheet.
Trump issued a proclamation on Dec. 31, 2020 suspending the entry of new H-1B visa holders through the end of 2021, citing the need to protect American jobs amid economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure also extended to other nonimmigrant visas like L-1 for intracompany transferees and J-1 for exchange visitors.
Former President Joe Biden revoked Trump’s 2020 H-1B suspension on Feb. 24, 2021, saying the restrictions were no longer warranted as the U.S. economy began to recover and unemployment rates declined.
The Biden administration later introduced its own reforms, including a Dec. 17, 2024 final rule reshaping H-1B eligibility criteria allowing U.S. employers to more quickly fill critical jobs, which took effect on Jan. 17, 2025.
According to the Statista, in fiscal year 2024, Indian nationals accounted for 71 percent of approved H-1B visas, followed by Chinese nationals at 11.7 percent approvals. Filipinos represented 1.3 percent, Canadians 1.1 percent and Mexicans 1 percent.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated on Sep. 19, 2025, that companies would need to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B visa holders, but the recent executive order as signed specified a one-time $100,000 payment for new petitions, excluding renewals and existing visas.
Companies including Amazon, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Meta and Google sent communications within a day to H-1B employees who were outside the US temporarily, advising them to return to the United States before the order went into effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT Sep. 21, amid initial concerns that the fee might apply to re-entries without a “H-1B fee paid stamp” at ports of entry after the deadline.
“Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on X.
“H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would; whatever ability they have to do that is not impacted by yesterday’s proclamation,” Leavitt added.
The executive order includes provisions to raise wages for H-1B workers, directing the Secretary of Labor to initiate rulemaking to “revise the prevailing wage levels” consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The executive order also directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to prioritize admission of “high-skilled and high-paid aliens.” The restriction is set to expire after 12 months unless extended, with a joint recommendation from agency heads due within 30 days after the next H-1B lottery.
Ron Hira, Ph.D., a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute and political science professor at Howard, is also the author of Outsourcing America, one of the first books to analyze the economic and policy implications of high-skilled job offshoring and has testified before Congress. He spoke with the Hilltop staff to share his perspective on the ongoing issue.
“The state of the H-1B program was scandalous,” Hira said. “It doesn’t operate the way Congress or policymakers intended, but is instead set up to exploit foreign guest workers, which harms both them and American workers by distorting the labor market.”
He emphasized that the program is essentially a “guest worker program,” a matter of labor policy rather than immigration policy.
Hira noted that while much of the media coverage has focused on the $100,000 fee, the more significant reforms lie in directives to “raise the prevailing wage,” change the random lottery system to a criteria-based allocation. These measures, he said, are designed to ensure fair pay, prevent employers from undercutting American workers.
On the $100,000 fee, Hira said the idea is unusual within policy circles and has not been fully vetted, but its aim is to “call the bluff” of employers by testing whether they are truly willing to pay for workers they claim are essential.
While some business leaders have supported the measure, Hira argued that it does not directly address wages or labor market distortions. For him, raising the prevailing wage remains the most important and effective reform.
Copy edited by Damenica Ellis
