President Donald Trump on Friday, signed a proclamation requiring companies to pay $100,000 per year for each H-1B visa worker, along with stricter wage requirements, to curb program abuse and prioritize American hires.
The policy applies to new and renewal applications and introduces a ‘gold card’ program for wealthy investors offering expedited visas for up to $2 million.
Tech companies dependent on visas from India and China anticipate significant disruptions, as the change aims to generate revenue and encourage domestic training while critics highlight potential losses in innovation and risks of offshoring.
- In summary, each company wanting to hire an H-1B will need to
1) pay a $100k application fee (non-refundable if denied),
2) pay a minimum of $90k/year MORE (wage floor raised from $60k to $150k minimum), and
3) pay that $100k fee again each year