The White House moved quickly to clear up confusion about President Donald Trump’s new push to tighten the H-1B visa program. Just one day after Trump signed a proclamation on Friday to cut back on the popular work visas for skilled foreign workers, officials explained that the changes include a one-time fee aimed at new applicants only.
“This is a one-time fee that applies only to the petition,” a White House official told on Saturday. “It only covers new H-1B visas, not renewals or current visa holders. The fee kicks in during the next upcoming lottery cycle.”
The goal? To stop companies from overwhelming the H-1B system with too many applications, a practice officials call “spamming.” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers put it this way: “President Trump promised to put American workers first, and this common-sense action does just that. It discourages companies from spamming the system and driving down wages. Plus, it gives real certainty to American businesses that truly want to hire high-skilled workers without the chaos from system abuses.”
Trump himself highlighted the focus on U.S. jobs during the signing ceremony at the White House. “The incentive is to hire American workers,” he said. “We need workers. We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick backed the move, stressing how it targets big companies like tech giants that bring in foreign talent. “No more will these big tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers,” Lutnick explained. “They have to pay the government $100,000, then pay the employee too. It’s just not worth it economically. Instead, train one of our recent graduates from great U.S. universities. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs. That’s the policy here—a $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas.”
The H-1B program lets U.S. companies hire foreign experts in fields like tech and engineering when they can’t find qualified Americans. But it’s drawn criticism for favoring overseas talent and undercutting local wages. Data from Pew Research shows why this matters globally: In 2023, Indian-born workers snagged about 73% of approved H-1B visas, with China at 12%. That’s largely because of huge backlogs in approvals and a surge of skilled immigrants from India seeking opportunities in the U.S.
This latest step in U.S. immigration policy could reshape how companies approach hiring skilled workers, putting more emphasis on American talent amid ongoing debates over jobs and borders.
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