AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
The Trump administration proposed a yearly US$100,000 fee per H-1B visa, significantly impacting the tech industry’s reliance on foreign talent. Commerce Secretary Lutnick argued this would incentivize hiring American graduates. This aggressive move to overhaul temporary work visas, aiming to prioritize American jobs, drew immediate market reactions with major tech companies like Cognizant, Infosys, and Wipro experiencing stock drops. Analysts warn this could lead to companies moving high-value jobs overseas, hurting the US’s standing in areas like AI. Critics question the legality of the fees, citing that Congress only authorized charges for processing costs, much lower than the proposed amount.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
The Trump administration on Sept 19 has unveiled plans to charge tech companies US$100,000 per year for each H-1B visa, a dramatic shift that could significantly disrupt the technology sector’s reliance on foreign talent, Reuters reported.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the fee would apply annually for the three-year duration of the visa.
“If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs,” he said.
The proposal marks the administration’s most aggressive move yet to overhaul temporary employment visas, part of its wider immigration crackdown.
Analysts warned the measure could push firms to move high-value work overseas, weakening the US position in areas like artificial intelligence.
Markets reacted swiftly. Cognizant Technology Solutions fell nearly 5%, while US-listed shares of Infosys and Wipro dropped between 2% and 5%.
Critics also questioned the legality of the new fees, noting that Congress has only authorised charges to cover processing costs. Currently, visa applications cost employers just a few thousand dollars.
