NextFin news, On Friday, September 19, 2025, the Trump administration revealed a proposal to impose a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas, a significant increase from the current fees, as part of a broader immigration crackdown. The announcement was made in Washington, D.C., with the White House confirming the plan to take effect through a presidential proclamation.
The H-1B visa program, established by Congress in 1990, allows U.S. employers to hire highly skilled foreign workers, primarily in technology and engineering fields. India and China are the largest beneficiaries, with Indian nationals accounting for about 71% of approved visas last year.
The administration's rationale for the fee hike is to address concerns that the H-1B program has been misused to replace American workers and suppress wages. President Donald Trump and his administration argue that the new fee will discourage companies from exploiting the visa system and encourage hiring of American workers.
The proposed $100,000 fee represents a dramatic escalation from the current application fees, which typically amount to several thousand dollars. This steep increase is expected to have a major impact on the U.S. technology sector, which relies heavily on H-1B visa holders to fill technical roles such as software engineers and project managers.
Major technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla are among the top users of the H-1B program. For example, Amazon received over 10,000 H-1B visa approvals in 2025, while Microsoft and Meta each secured more than 5,000 approvals. The new fee could significantly increase their recruitment costs and operational expenses.
The announcement immediately affected the stock market, with shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions, an IT services company heavily dependent on H-1B visa holders, dropping by 4.74% on Friday. Similarly, shares of Indian tech firms Infosys and Wipro fell more than 2% each.
The H-1B visa program allocates 85,000 visas annually but receives hundreds of thousands of applications, necessitating a lottery system. Employees of universities and nonprofit organizations are typically exempt from the cap.
The policy has sparked divisions within the government and among supporters. Some immigration hard-liners support the fee hike as a way to protect American jobs, while others, including some Republicans and tech industry leaders, argue that the program is essential for maintaining U.S. competitiveness by attracting global talent.
Implementation details of the $100,000 fee remain unclear, including how it will be administered and which entities will be subject to it. Legal challenges are anticipated, as new visa fees typically require congressional approval or a formal rulemaking process involving public notice and comment, which can take months.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow has expressed skepticism about the program and had prepared regulations to prioritize higher-paid visa applicants, but these were reportedly shelved by the White House.
The Trump administration's move to impose the $100,000 fee marks a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy targeting high-skilled foreign workers and is expected to trigger intense debate over the future of the H-1B visa program.
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