President Donald J. Trump has recently issued and announced a new executive order that adds a $100,000 fee for all applicants under the H-1B visa petition. The order went into effect on September 21, 2025, and is meant to “reduce the reliance on foreign workers and promote domestic hiring.” The decision has caused debate between major companies and governments, especially those that depend on hiring foreign workers through this visa.
The H-1B visa is a popular option for highly educated and skilled workers from other countries who want to work in the U.S. To qualify, applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and apply for jobs like engineers, developers, and researchers. These visas usually last between three to six years. Presently, the fee does not affect current visa holders or those who have already applied.
Large companies mostly support the fee. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI see the fees as a way to help American workers get better jobs. They also say the fee makes the process more fair by removing the “lottery luck” of getting a visa. “Streamlining the process of getting the smartest people into the US and aligning financial incentives seems good to me,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.
However, smaller business owners see the fee as unfair and politically motivated. Small business owners argue that large companies can afford the high fees, while smaller businesses may struggle and lose money. They believe this creates an unfair advantage, making it harder for new startups to grow and reducing diversity in the business world. Additionally, critics say it’s another way for the Trump administration to limit immigration. “It’s also bad for the U.S. economy and for U.S. workers who are competing with them, because it drives down the wages for U.S. workers and it also eliminates many job opportunities for those workers,” Ronil Hira, an associate political science professor at Howard University, said.
It’s still unclear what the long-term effects of the order will be. The U.S. continues to change in terms of immigration, jobs, and economic policy. How this plays out will shape the future of American workers and the country’s identity.
