On Friday, US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation requiring companies to pay an annual fee of $100,000 for each H-1B worker visa.
“We need workers. We need great workers. And this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump said in the Oval Office while signing the proclamation.
The administration intends the overhaul to curb widespread abuse of the visa system, especially companies replacing US tech workers with cheaper foreign labor.
“The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security,” according to the proclamation released by the White House.
The move represents the administration’s latest push to tighten immigration controls and could have far-reaching effects on sectors that rely extensively on H-1B visa holders.
Standing alongside Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emphasized that the new fee aims to reduce dependence on foreign labor while encouraging businesses to prioritize hiring American workers.
“Stop bringing in people to take our jobs, that’s our policy here,” Lutnick said, standing next to Trump.
