This week, Donald Trump made waves across the world by announcing a huge reform that will completely change the H-1B visa selection process. The change is designed to prioritize highly skilled workers and protect American citizens from (what Trump sees as) unfair wage competition from foreign workers. There will also be a new, mandatory $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions.
Ramifications for Employers and Employees
But why does this matter, and what does it mean for foreign workers looking to make the move to the USA? Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, it will impact visa seekers looking to obtain employment in the USA. This new mandatory fee means that many companies will be much more hesitant to hire foreign talent, because they will now need to commit to paying the employee’s salary, all the existing visa fees, plus an extra $100,000 on top of that. Naturally, for prospective foreign workers, this means that getting hired becomes a much more difficult task.
There are also big implications for employers too. Around 70% of H-1B visas are granted for Indian nationals, who are heavily recruited in the tech sector. With this announcement, companies will face huge extra costs to bring this talent into the USA and will almost certainly now be looking at alternatives to fill these skill gaps. Touted solutions include more focus on hiring local talent and hiring employees to work remotely/offshore. Such big changes could severely strain the strong links between the USA and India – particularly where U.S. companies have relied on top-level Indian talent to plug skill gaps in their workforce.
In short? The change represents a significant financial barrier that will almost certainly reduce the number of highly skilled foreign workers entering the USA; there will be big implications for job seekers, companies, and the broader economies of both India and the USA through the ripple effect of these changes.
What Are the New Rules, and Why?
I want to clarify a few things before we get into this blog, like what exactly do these new rules stipulate, when do they come into process and what are some of the clarifications we’ve got from the White House. Firstly, the new fee for H-1B visa applications has been confirmed at $100,000. Crucially, this will not be a recurring fee; it is paid once per employee, and never again. This fee came into effect as soon as Trump announced it (September 21, 2025), however it will not be enacted retroactively, meaning the new fee will only be incurred for applications filed after that date. The final clarification we have from the White House is that this new $100,000 will not replace the existing visa-processing fees, it will be paid on top of them to make the employee eligible for the H-1B visa.
Naturally, the question now moves from what are the new rules, to why have the new rules been introduced. In truth, there are a few reasons for the reform, all of which have merit. Firstly, this new fee aims to discourage the misuse (or overuse) of the H-1B visa, meaning companies will have to think more stringently about who they apply for. Another goal of the reform is to attempt to re-focus companies on domestic hiring, ensuring U.S. citizens are getting a fair shot at highly skilled roles that were previously being given to foreign talent – whilst also combatting wage competition. Finally, Trump aims to “raise the bar” for entry into the USA, the rationale being that with this new rule, only the most skilled foreign workers with extremely niche and sought-after abilities will justify going through this new cost hurdle.
This change will impact anybody who is now filing for the H-1B visa. Crucially, it will not impact anybody who already holds the H-1B, and renewals/extensions will also not be required to pay the fee. It’s also worth noting that, historically, we’ve seen certain exceptions to this type of rule, such as “national interest” cases or people with exceptional values or skills. My view is that this change will have the biggest impact on the Tech/IT sector in the USA, as a large portion of H-1B visas are granted in this industry. The knock-on effect of this impact is the fact that there is potential for this to have negative repercussions for innovation in the tech sector, leading to drops in productivity and positive change.
Global Response
The next question is: what has the reaction been to this huge news? In all honesty – it’s been mostly negative. From India, the reaction has been met with universal fear/concern. Government, tech bodies have expressed real concern about the changes, and the implications it has for the India-to-USA talent pipeline. From the tech industry in the US itself, there has also been an expression of caution, and at times downright confusion. On the day of the announcement, flights, travel plans and hotels were being canceled due to ambiguity about re-entry permits and what these changes could mean for H-1B visa holders. As always with new legislation, early confusion like this is natural; there was also an instance of the Commerce Secretary initially calling it an “annual fee” before clarifications from the White House regarding it being a one-time fee.
But these are mainly short-term reactions. What about the long term? In my opinion, the long-term implications of this reform could be huge. Firstly, I can foresee a significant shift in global talent flow; due to what can only be described as a much stricter criteria for entry, the USA stands to lose attractiveness for foreign skilled workers who will know their chances of achieving residence are significantly smaller. Where the USA stands to lose out on this talent, other countries may be positioned to gain. The other big risk factor for the USA is the potential to lose a competitive advantage in terms of innovation and competitiveness of the technology sector. For many years, the USA has been at the forefront of tech innovation; however, with these new changes and the preceding change of talent flows, only time will tell if they are able to maintain their status.
Alternatives for Job Seekers
So what are the alternatives? Frankly, there aren’t many aside from extremely difficult to obtain work visas (such as the ‘extraordinary talent’ O1 visa and the like) or seeking waivers or exceptions. All of this, plus the uncertain future of the U.S. EB-5 investment visa, means Trump could be quietly constructing an “all paths lead here” situation geared toward his touted ‘Gold Card’ – whereby investors commit a $1 million investment in the USA in exchange for residence, and eventually citizenship.
For now, the U.S. EB-5 Visa remains; how much longer it exists remains to be seen. If you are looking to obtain permanent residence in the USA, whether for work, education, or business reasons, the best time to act is now, while the options are still available. If you’d like to know more about the EB-5 programme, or would like to discuss anything in this blog in more detail, please reach out to me directly at felix.weinstok@passportlegacy.com
