The Trump administration enacted significant changes to U.S. visa programs, including a substantial increase in fees for H-1B visas and the introduction of a new investor visa category.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation implementing an annual fee of $100,000 for H-1B visas for highly-skilled foreign workers, a considerable rise from the prior $215. Simultaneously, a new “$1 million gold card” visa was established, offering wealthy individuals a pathway to U.S. citizenship, increasing from previous investor visa fees that ranged from $10,000 to $20,000 annually.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick articulated that these policy revisions aim to ensure foreign workers provide a “significant benefit” to the United States. The changes were met with approval from critics of the H-1B program, who often contend that it can lead to foreign workers accepting lower wages (e.g., around $60,000, compared to over $100,000 for typical U.S. tech workers) and potentially displace American labor. The advocacy group U.S. Tech Workers, for example, lauded the move as “the next best thing” to a full abolishment of the visas. Despite the program’s design to prevent wage undercutting or worker displacement, critics suggest companies may classify jobs at lower skill levels to reduce wages for foreign workers. California is identified as the state with the highest concentration of H-1B workers.
Source: www.livemint.com