U.S. President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind a proposed new fee of more than US$103,000 for certain H-1B visa petitions, arguing the measure would encourage American companies to hire and train U.S. workers before recruiting skilled employees from overseas.
Trump highlighted the proposal in his Labour Day proclamation, placing changes to the H-1B program alongside his administration’s broader agenda on tariffs, domestic manufacturing and employment.
“To ensure we are hiring and training American workers, we are proposing a new fee on H-1B visa petitions that will encourage companies to invest in qualified Americans before looking overseas for labour,” Trump said.
The H-1B program allows U.S. employers, particularly technology and other specialized industries, to hire highly skilled foreign professionals. Indian nationals have historically accounted for the largest share of H-1B recipients, making proposed changes to the program particularly significant for Indian professionals and the Indian diaspora in the United States.
The proposed fee, however, is not currently in effect.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has advanced a proposed rule that would establish a US$103,265 charge for cap-subject H-1B petitions, including applications eligible for the advanced-degree exemption. The charge would be collected when a petition is filed and would be in addition to existing immigration filing fees.
The proposal is moving through the federal regulatory process and has not yet become an active requirement.
The latest effort follows an earlier Trump administration attempt to impose a US$100,000 fee on incoming H-1B workers. That measure was struck down by a federal judge in Massachusetts in June, with the court finding that the administration had exceeded its executive authority. An appeals court subsequently declined a request to put the ruling on hold in July.
Unlike the earlier measure, the proposed US$103,265 fee is being pursued through the standard federal rule-making process.
Trump tied the H-1B proposal to his wider economic strategy, arguing that tariffs and other policies aimed at encouraging domestic production are bringing investment and manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
He claimed companies are investing trillions of dollars in the U.S. economy and have added more than 900,000 American jobs as manufacturing activity expands.
“Our Nation is entering a bold new era of American manufacturing, technological innovation, and economic prosperity — powered by the might of the American worker,” Trump said.
The proposal could have significant implications for U.S. companies that rely heavily on the H-1B program. If implemented, the substantially higher cost of sponsoring certain foreign workers could push employers to reconsider their hiring strategies while potentially affecting thousands of skilled professionals seeking employment in the United States.
