Trump to impose $100K fee on H-1B visas in new immigration action

By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive action on Friday that would impose a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas — an effort to curb overuse of the program, a White House official told CNN.

The executive action claims that “abuse of the H-1B pathway has displaced US workers” and will restrict entry under the program unless accompanied by the payment, the official said.

The move marks the latest in a series of efforts from the administration to crack down on immigration and could significantly impact industries that depend heavily on H-1B workers.

The H-1B visa is a work visa that’s valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Economists have argued the program allows US companies to maintain competitiveness and grow their business, creating more jobs in the US.

Trump’s stance on the program has fluctuated, and the issue has sharply divided his supporters at times.

The president restricted access to foreign worker visas during his first term and has targeted the H-1B program in past remarks – but during the 2024 campaign, he signaled openness to giving some foreign-born workers legal status if they graduated from a US university.

Trump also defended the program last December, telling the New York Post that he’s “a believer in H-1B.”

“I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump told the news outlet at the time.

Trump’s remarks came after entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump initially tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, defended the program, igniting sharp criticism from MAGA loyalists hoping to restrict immigration.

65,000 H-1B visas are granted annually, with another 20,000 reserved just for people who hold advanced degrees from US higher education institutions. Demand for the visa often exceeds the supply, triggering a lottery system.

Many companies use H-1B visas to help fill their workforces. But tech is the sector most commonly associated with H-1Bs. Tech firms big and small say they need the H-1B program to hire trained talent that they can’t find at home.

Trump has previously opposed the H-1B visa program as part of his platform to encourage US companies to prioritize American labor over hiring foreign workers. During his 2016 campaign, Trump accused US companies of using H-1B visas “for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.”

In 2020, Trump restricted access to H-1B visas on several occasions, part of his administration’s effort to curb legal immigration while responding to the changing economic conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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