On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that imposes a $100,000 annual visa fee for highly skilled foreign workers. He also introduced a new $1 million "gold card" visa, which could provide a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy foreigners. This significant increase in fees raises the cost of the H-1B visa from $215 to $100,000 and the investor visas from a maximum of $20,000 to $1 million for the gold card.

The H-1B visa is designed for high-skilled jobs that often require at least a bachelor's degree. It is commonly used in the tech industry, where companies sometimes struggle to find qualified candidates. Critics, including many U.S. tech workers, argue that the program allows companies to suppress wages and overlook American workers. They point out that many foreign workers are willing to accept salaries as low as $60,000, which is significantly less than the typical salaries for U.S. tech employees.

Supporters of the H-1B program, such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, contend that it is essential for attracting the skilled workers necessary to fill talent gaps and maintain competitiveness in the industry.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the fee increase aims to discourage tech companies from prioritizing foreign workers over American talent. "If you're going to train people, you're going to train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs," he said. Lutnick believes that the new fees will likely lead to a decrease in the number of H-1B visas issued, which currently has an annual cap of 85,000.

India is expected to be the most affected by these changes, as it accounted for 71% of approved H-1B visa beneficiaries last year. China followed with 11.7%. Major tech companies may also feel the impact; Amazon was the top recipient of H-1B visas this year, receiving over 10,000, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple, and Google.

Responses from major tech companies have yet to be reported. Representatives from Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta did not respond to requests for comment, while Microsoft declined to comment. However, Trump expressed confidence that the tech industry would support the changes, with Lutnick claiming that "all the big companies are on board."

Critics of the H-1B visa program have welcomed the new fees, with the advocacy group U.S. Tech Workers calling it "the next best thing" to abolishing the visas entirely.

Despite the support, there are significant concerns regarding the implications of these changes. Deedy Das, a partner at Menlo Ventures, warned that the increased fees could deter top talent from coming to the U.S. "It drastically reduces [the United States'] ability to innovate and grow the economy," he stated. Some analysts fear that the fee hikes may push companies to relocate high-value work overseas, potentially undermining the U.S.'s competitive edge in the artificial intelligence sector.

Doug Rand, a former senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, criticized the proposed fee increase as "ludicrously lawless," suggesting it serves more as a political maneuver than a genuine policy change.

In addition to the visa fee changes, Trump announced the introduction of the $1 million gold card visa, which will replace the current EB-1 and EB-2 visa programs for individuals deemed of "exceptional value" to the U.S. A "Trump Platinum Card" will also be available for $5 million, allowing foreigners to stay in the U.S. for up to 270 days without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income. Lutnick indicated that while the H-1B fees and gold card could be implemented by the president, the platinum card would require congressional approval.