AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
In September 2025, President Trump introduced a $100,000 application fee for companies sponsoring H-1B visas, used heavily by the tech sector. The administration claims this will ensure only highly skilled workers are sponsored, but critics argue the fee will drastically alter the H-1B system, designed to attract talent for hard-to-fill STEM jobs. While proponents say the program boosts competitiveness, critics argue it’s been abused to lower wages. California has the most H-1B workers, and India is the largest beneficiary, followed by China. This change, part of a broader immigration crackdown, could significantly impact the technology industry.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
Fee paid by companies set to transform high-skill work visa system, upon which technology sector relies heavily.
Published On 19 Sep 2025
United States President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation requiring a $100,000 application fee for companies seeking to sponsor workers H-1B visas.
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Administration officials said the change to the H1-B programme would assure that companies would only sponsor workers with the most rarified skill sets.
“We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that’s what’s gonna happen,” he said.
However, such a prohibitive fee will likely vastly transform the H-1B system, which was created in 1990 in an effort to boost industries with high-skilled, hard-to-fill jobs, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math.
The visas are reserved for people with bachelor’s degrees or higher and have historically been awarded via a lottery system.
The programme has come under increased scrutiny from the Trump administration amid a wider crackdown on immigration, which Trump has tied to boosting domestic labour.
The administration has previously considered changing the H-1B visa rules to favour higher-paying employers, essentially doing away with the lottery system.
Supporters of the H-1B programme say it brings the best and brightest to work in the US, creating an edge against foreign competitors.
Critics have long charged that companies have abused the programme, using it to pay lower wages and to impose fewer labour protections.
The technology sector would be the hardest hit by any major change.
Geographically, California has the highest number of H-1B workers, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Meanwhile, India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71 percent of approved beneficiaries. China was a distant second at 11.7 percent, according to government data.
