Main expertise firms and international governments are speeding to reply after President Donald Trump late Friday introduced plans to impose a $100,000 price on H-1B visas, threatening to upend this system that underpins America’s expertise workforce.
The price would apply to new H-1B candidates, not renewals or present visa holders, in accordance with a White Home official. It’ll first apply within the upcoming lottery cycle, and it doesn’t apply to 2025 lottery winners, the particular person stated. The White Home additionally clarified that the brand new $100,000 price shouldn’t be an annual cost, as beforehand reported by a number of media shops.
The transfer may deal an enormous blow to firms — primarily within the expertise and finance sectors — that rely closely on extremely expert immigrants, notably from India and China.
The announcement despatched shockwaves by way of a number of the nation’s greatest tech and finance firms:
Amazon’s immigration workforce suggested its H-1B and H-4 visa holders to stay within the U.S. and for these abroad to return earlier than 12:01 a.m. ET on Sept. 21, in accordance with inner messages seen by CNBC.JPMorgan Chase’s legislation agency despatched a memo asking H-1B visa holders on the agency to stay within the U.S. and keep away from worldwide journey till additional steerage, in accordance with an individual accustomed to the matter.Goldman Sachs advised staff holding H-1B visas to train warning when touring internationally primarily based on steerage from immigration companies agency Fragomen, in accordance with an inner memo seen by Reuters.Microsoft additionally has reportedly suggested H-1B visa holders to stay within the U.S. and for these abroad to return, warning that worldwide journey may jeopardize their immigration standing, in accordance with emails seen by Reuters.
The price represents the administration’s most aggressive transfer but to limit authorized immigration. Since taking workplace in January, Trump has superior a broad crackdown on each unlawful and authorized entry into the U.S., however Friday’s announcement marks probably the most vital try and clamp down on employment visas.
Amazon employed probably the most H-1B holders — greater than 14,000 as of the top of June. Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google had over 4,000 such visas every, among the many high 10 recipients for the fiscal 12 months 2025.
CNBC has reached out to the entire public firms on the highest 10 H-1B recipient record for remark.
“President Trump promised to place American staff first, and this commonsense motion does simply that by discouraging firms from spamming the system and driving down wages,” Taylor Rogers, a White Home spokeswoman, advised CNBC. “It additionally offers certainty to American companies who truly need to deliver high-skilled staff to our nice nation however have been trampled on by abuses of the system.”
‘Humanitarian penalties’
The announcement additionally disrupted the established order abroad, the place international governments scrambled to evaluate the influence of the brand new guidelines on their nations.
India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs stated it’s finding out the visa restrictions and their implications, stressing that each Indian and U.S. industries share an curiosity in sustaining competitiveness in innovation. It additionally highlighted the probably disruption to particular person households.
“This measure is prone to have humanitarian penalties by the use of the disruption brought about for households. Authorities hopes that these disruptions will be addressed suitably by the US authorities,” India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs stated in an announcement.
South Korea’s international ministry additionally stated it’s assessing the implications for Korean companies and expert staff.
Under is a searchable record of the highest 100 U.S. firms which have been H1-B recipients in fiscal 12 months 2025.
— CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.
