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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Trump imposes $100K fee on H-1B visas in new immigration action
By Alejandra Jaramillo, Adam Cancryn, CNN
Updated:
7:57 PM EDT, Fri September 19, 2025
Source: CNN
President Donald Trump signed an executive action on Friday to impose a
$100,000 application fee for H-1B visas — in an effort to curb what
his administration says is overuse of the program.
“We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s
what’s going to happen,” Trump said from the Oval Office, where
officials detailed how the measure would incentivize companies to
employ American workers while still providing a pathway to hire highly
skilled foreign workers in specialized fields.
The proclamation will restrict entry under the program unless
accompanied by the payment.
In a separate order, Trump also directed the creation of a “gold
card” immigration pathway that he said would fast-track visas for
certain immigrants in exchange for a hefty fee. The policy will
expedite visas for foreigners who pay the US $1 million, while allowing
a company to pay $2 million to speed up the process for a foreign
worker that it sponsors.
The moves mark the latest in a series of efforts from the
administration to crack down on immigration and place sharp new limits
on the types of foreigners allowed into the country. They threaten to
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.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters on a call Friday
evening that the administration came to the fee of $100,000 per year,
plus vetting costs, after talking with companies.
He noted that the payment structure is still under discussion with the
Department of Homeland Security, in terms of “whether we’re going
to charge the $300,000 up front or $100,000 a year for the three
years.”
Trump’s stance on the H-1B visa program has fluctuated, and the issue
has his supporters at times.
The president 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 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, .
Many companies use H-1B visas to help fill their workforces. But 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.
The so-called gold card program that Trump also unveiled is also
designed to overhaul the nation’s posture toward foreign workers,
aiming to tip the balance of immigrants toward entrepreneurs and high
earners.
A brainchild of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the program will
speed entry for foreigners who can afford the $1 million fee — or get
their employer to pay twice as much to sponsor them. In the Oval Office
on Friday, Lutnick criticized the existing green card process for
immigrants seeking to live and work permanently in the US, arguing it
resulted in the country taking in the “bottom quartile” of workers
from abroad.
“We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top,”
Lutnick said of the gold card program.
This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.
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