U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he sits subsequent to a “Trump Gold Card” signal, within the Oval Workplace on the White Home in Washington, D.C., U.S., Sept. 19, 2025.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters
Main know-how corporations and overseas 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 know-how workforce.
The price would apply to new H-1B candidates, not renewals or present visa holders, based on a White Home official. It would first apply within the upcoming lottery cycle, and it doesn’t apply to 2025 lottery winners, the particular person mentioned. The White Home additionally clarified that the brand new $100,000 price isn’t an annual cost, as beforehand reported by a number of media retailers.
The transfer may deal a large blow to corporations — primarily within the know-how and finance sectors — that rely closely on extremely expert immigrants, significantly from India and China.
The announcement despatched shockwaves by way of among the nation’s largest tech and finance corporations:
- Amazon’s immigration group 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, based on inner messages considered by CNBC.
- JPMorgan Chase’s regulation 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, based on an individual conversant in the matter.
- Goldman Sachs advised workers holding H-1B visas to train warning when touring internationally primarily based on steerage from immigration companies agency Fragomen, based on 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, based on 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 to clamp down on employment visas.
Amazon employed probably the most H-1B holders — greater than 14,000 as of the tip of June. Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google had over 4,000 such visas every, among the many prime 10 recipients for the fiscal yr 2025.
CNBC has reached out to the entire public corporations on the highest 10 H-1B recipient listing for remark. The White Home did not instantly reply to an e-mail asking for remark.
“President Trump promised to place American employees first, and this commonsense motion does simply that by discouraging corporations from spamming the system and driving down wages,” Taylor Rogers, a White Home spokeswoman, advised CNBC. “It additionally offers certainty to American companies who really need to carry high-skilled employees 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 overseas governments scrambled to evaluate the influence of the brand new guidelines on their nations.
India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs mentioned 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 seemingly disruption to particular person households.
“This measure is prone to have humanitarian penalties by the use of the disruption induced for households. Authorities hopes that these disruptions may be addressed suitably by the US authorities,” India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs mentioned in a press release.
South Korea’s overseas ministry additionally mentioned it’s assessing the implications for Korean companies and expert employees.
Beneath is a searchable listing of the highest 100 U.S. corporations which were H1-B recipients in fiscal yr 2025.
— CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.
