U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he sits subsequent to a “Trump Gold Card” signal, within the Oval Workplace on the White Home in Washington, D.C., U.S., Sept. 19, 2025.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters
Main expertise firms and overseas governments are dashing to reply after President Donald Trump late Friday introduced plans to impose a $100,000 price on H-1B visas, threatening to upend this system that underpins America’s expertise workforce.
The price would apply to new H-1B candidates, not renewals or present visa holders, in accordance with a White Home official. It should first apply within the upcoming lottery cycle, and it doesn’t apply to 2025 lottery winners, the individual mentioned. The White Home additionally clarified that the brand new $100,000 price will not be an annual cost, as beforehand reported by a number of media retailers.
The transfer might deal a large blow to firms — primarily within the expertise and finance sectors — that rely closely on extremely expert immigrants, notably from India and China.
The announcement despatched shockwaves by way of among the nation’s greatest tech and finance firms:
- Amazon’s immigration group suggested its H-1B and H-4 visa holders to stay within the U.S. and for these abroad to return earlier than 12:01 a.m. ET on Sept. 21, in accordance with inside messages considered by CNBC.
- JPMorgan Chase’s regulation agency despatched a memo asking H-1B visa holders on the agency to stay within the U.S. and keep away from worldwide journey till additional steering, in accordance with an individual accustomed to the matter.
- Goldman Sachs advised workers holding H-1B visas to train warning when touring internationally based mostly on steering from immigration companies agency Fragomen, in accordance with an inside memo seen by Reuters.
- Microsoft additionally has reportedly suggested H-1B visa holders to stay within the U.S. and for these abroad to return, warning that worldwide journey might jeopardize their immigration standing, in accordance with emails seen by Reuters.
The price represents the administration’s most aggressive transfer but to limit authorized immigration. Since taking workplace in January, Trump has superior a broad crackdown on each unlawful and authorized entry into the U.S., however Friday’s announcement marks probably the most vital try and clamp down on employment visas.
Amazon employed probably the most H-1B holders — greater than 14,000 as of the top of June. Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google had over 4,000 such visas every, among the many high 10 recipients for the fiscal 12 months 2025.
CNBC has reached out to all the public firms on the highest 10 H-1B recipient record for remark. The White Home did not instantly reply to an e mail asking for remark.
“President Trump promised to place American staff first, and this commonsense motion does simply that by discouraging firms from spamming the system and driving down wages,” Taylor Rogers, a White Home spokeswoman, advised CNBC. “It additionally provides certainty to American companies who truly need to carry high-skilled staff to our nice nation however have been trampled on by abuses of the system.”
‘Humanitarian penalties’
The announcement additionally disrupted the established order abroad, the place overseas governments scrambled to evaluate the influence of the brand new guidelines on their international locations.
India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs mentioned it’s learning the visa restrictions and their implications, stressing that each Indian and U.S. industries share an curiosity in sustaining competitiveness in innovation. It additionally highlighted the doubtless disruption to particular person households.
“This measure is more likely to have humanitarian penalties by means of the disruption induced for households. Authorities hopes that these disruptions could be addressed suitably by the US authorities,” India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs mentioned in a press release.
South Korea’s overseas ministry additionally mentioned it’s assessing the implications for Korean companies and expert staff.
Under is a searchable record of the highest 100 U.S. firms which were H1-B recipients in fiscal 12 months 2025.
— CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.