President Donald Trump’s latest effort to overhaul America’s legal immigration system — raising the annual fee on H-1B visa applicants from $215 to $100,000 — could deal a major blow to some US industries that rely on skilled foreign workers.
During a signing at the Oval Office Friday, Trump argued that America needs “great workers” and that the newly imposed fee “pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen.” Administration officials also claimed the hefty fee would incentivize companies to hire American workers.
“The company needs to decide … is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000-a-year payment to the government, or they should head home and go hire an American?” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the signing. “That’s the point of immigration: Hire Americans and make sure the people coming in are the top, top people.”
Of the 85,000 H-1B visas granted annually, another 20,000 are reserved for people with advanced degrees from American higher education institutions.
But Trump’s allies have been divided on how to tackle the visa program.
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