Media outlets are reporting that a new Trump administration proclamation regarding immigrant visas is causing confusion in the business sector.
On September 19, the White House announced the imposition of a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, a program that for years has made it possible for individuals from other countries to work in the U.S. on a temporary basis.
The proclamation, reports the Wall Street Journal, has set off a “wave of anxiety and confusion.” Many companies suddenly feared “they would have to pay the fee for existing H-1B holders.”
“Panic, confusion, and anger reigned as workers on H-1B visas from India and China were forced to abandon travel plans and rush back to the U.S,” the Reuters news service reported on Sunday.
But a fact sheet released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services endeavored to calm the waters, noting that the proclamation does “not change any payments or fees required to be submitted in connection with any H-1B renewals. The fee is a one-time fee on submission of a new H-1B petition.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the $100,000 fee would be an annual cost for companies. “If you have to have a very sophisticated engineer and you want to bring them in,” remarked Lutnick, “then you can pay $100,000 a year for your H-1B visa.”
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Amazon has this year secured the most H1-B visa approvals, for a total of nearly 14,400 workers. No other company came close, although Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Wal-Mart were approved for anywhere from 2,400 visas to 5,200.
Skilled foreign workers securing H1-B visas have typically been employed in the health care, tech, and finance industries.
Workers from India have by far comprised the largest number of such visas. More than 300,000 Indians were working in the U.S. on an H-1B visa last year., making up 71% of all visa recipients.
“They, along with their spouses and children, made up about a tenth of all Indian-origin people who reside in the country legally,” notes the New York Times.
In an announcement, the Ministry of External Affairs in India has noted that the H-1B program has “contributed enormously to technology development, innovation, economic growth, competitiveness, and wealth creation in the United States and India.”
The new policy, the statement adds, “is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families.”
The presidential proclamation is scheduled to remain in effect for 12 months.
September 23, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Image courtesy of Pixabay
