On Friday, local time, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation requiring a $US100,000 ($150,000) annual visa fee for highly-skilled foreign workers.

He also signed an executive order to roll out new $US1 million "gold card" visas, offering a potential pathway to US citizenship for wealthy foreigners.

These eye-watering price hikes will boost the cost of the high-skilled H-1B visa from $US215 and the investor visas from a maximum of $US20,000 to $US1 million for the "gold card".

But what exactly does it mean? And who will be most impacted?

Let's dive in.

What is the H-1B visa?

The H-1B visa requires at least a bachelor's degree and is principally used for high-skilled jobs that tech companies can struggle to fill.

Critics of the program, including many US tech workers, argue

See Full Page