US President Donald Trump has just announced a big change to the H-1B visa program, slapping a hefty $100,000 fee on companies that want to sponsor these visas. This move, revealed on Friday from Washington DC, aims to stop the overuse of the program and make sure only top-notch foreign talent gets in—while protecting jobs for American workers.
The H-1B visa lets US companies hire skilled experts from abroad for specialized roles in fields like science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), and IT. These jobs usually need at least a bachelor’s degree. But critics say the system has been abused, letting companies swap out US workers for cheaper foreign labor.
White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf explained it clearly: “This proclamation raises the sponsorship fee to $100,000. That way, companies will only bring in super-skilled workers who can’t easily be replaced by Americans. It’s all about curbing the abuse in this non-immigrant visa program.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick echoed the sentiment, blasting the old system as a “scam” that lets big tech firms and others train foreign workers instead of Americans. In a recent statement, he said, “No more training foreigners on the cheap. Pay the government $100,000 plus the employee’s salary—it’s just not worth it. Train our own recent grads from great US universities. Hire Americans first. And guess what? All the big companies are on board with this policy.”
This isn’t the first time voices have risen against the H-1B visa program. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called it a “total scam” in a Fox News interview earlier this week. He accused companies of training American workers side-by-side with H-1B hires, only to fire the locals and keep the foreigners. “It’s unacceptable and hurts our workers,” DeSantis said.
The impact could be huge, especially for industries relying on H-1B talent. Indians top the list as the biggest beneficiaries, making up over 70% of approved H-1B petitions every year since 2015. Lutnick doubled down on social media, posting on X: “The current H-1B system is a scam filling American jobs with foreign workers. Great US businesses should prioritize hiring Americans—now’s the time.”
This latest step is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing push to tighten immigration rules and boost opportunities for US citizens in the job market.
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