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Trump Extends $100,000 H-1B Fee, Tightens Application Scrutiny
The United States has a visa program called H-1B that lets companies temporarily hire highly specialised workers from other countries.
President Donald Trump extended a $100,000 fee that employers must pay for certain new H-1B workers.
The fee will remain in place for another year.
The White House says the fee caused registrations by large IT outsourcing companies to fall by 92 percent.
A new order also tells government agencies to look more closely at applications.
They must consider whether a company recently laid off, or plans to lay off, similar American workers.
The Labor Department will review employer paperwork to see whether more action is needed.
The fee is being challenged in federal courts.
Business groups say the program helps companies find skilled workers, while critics say some employers use it to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees.
Donald Trump extended the $100,000 fee on employers sponsoring new H-1B workers for another year.
The White House said the 2025 fee reduced H-1B registrations by large IT outsourcing firms by 92 percent.
A separate proclamation directs federal agencies to consider sponsoring employers’ recent or planned layoffs of similar US workers.
The Labor Department has 30 days to begin reviewing previously submitted labor condition applications for possible enforcement action.
The fee faces legal challenges, while business groups argue that H-1B visas help companies recruit skilled professionals.
- Who
- US President Donald Trump, H-1B sponsoring employers, federal agencies, foreign workers, and US workers are involved.
- What
- Trump extended the $100,000 H-1B employer fee for one year and ordered tighter review of visa applications and sponsoring employers.
- Where
- The measures apply to the United States and are being challenged in US federal courts.
- When
- The extension was announced in a presidential proclamation issued on Friday; the original fee was introduced in September 2025 and was due to expire this month.
- Why
- The administration says the measures protect national and economic security, improve opportunities for American workers, and prevent abuse of the H-1B program.
Administration and Critics
Businesses and Supporters
Effect on American workers
Administration and Critics
The administration says some employers, outsourcing firms, and third-party placement groups use H-1B visas to undercut or displace skilled US workers.
Businesses and Supporters
Business groups and companies say H-1B hiring helps them recruit highly skilled professionals and address shortages of qualified workers.
Value of the $100,000 fee
Administration and Critics
The administration says the fee protects national and economic security and ensures that employers seek only highly skilled and essential foreign workers.
Businesses and Supporters
Businesses have criticised the fee, and legal challengers argue that the administration’s authority to impose it is unlawful.
Tighter application scrutiny
Administration and Critics
The administration says reviewing employer layoffs will strengthen program integrity and protect American workers.
Businesses and Supporters
Companies relying on H-1B visas face greater scrutiny and have argued more broadly that the program is important for technology hiring and expansion.
Key facts
- Extended fee
- $100,000 for certain employers bringing foreign workers to the United States under the H-1B program
- Extension period
- One additional year
- Reported registration decline
- 92 percent among large IT outsourcing firms, according to the White House
- Review deadline
- The Secretary of Labor has 30 days to begin reviewing previously submitted labor condition applications
- Exemptions
- The fee does not apply to certain foreign nationals already in the United States on student visas or to renewals of existing H-1B visas
- Largest beneficiary group
- Indians are described as the single largest beneficiary group of the H-1B program
- Legal status
- The fee is being challenged in federal courts, including a case involving the US Chamber of Commerce
Quotes
The White House
The US presidential administration, in a fact sheet describing the separate proclamation
“An extension of the 2025 Proclamation will continue to protect the economic and national security interests of the United States, improve labour market access for American workers and graduates, and ensure that employers recruit only the most highly-skilled and essential alien workers when needed in line with the original intent of the program.”
telegraphindia.com
m.rediff.com
thehindubusinessline.com
“The Order enhances program integrity in the H-1B visa program by improving interagency coordination and directing enhanced scrutiny of H-1B visa applications where there is a heightened risk that American workers would be laid off.”
telegraphindia.com
m.rediff.com
thehindubusinessline.com
Sources
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