President Donald Trump‘s proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee confused large U.S. companies, prompting the White House to clarify the situation on Saturday.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the issue on X, stating that it is not an annual fee but a one-time charge that applies only when the visa petition is filed.
Major Corporate Impact
According to Fortune, major companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) quickly instructed their H-1B employees to head back to the U.S. and cancel any travel plans following the visa fee news. JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) also issued similar warnings.
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As of early 2025, Amazon and its cloud unit AWS had received more than 12,000 H-1B approvals, while Microsoft and Meta had each secured over 5,000 approvals.
Legal Backdrop
The new policy comes as tech companies face allegations of discrimination. OpenAI and others have been accused of posting job ads that unfairly prioritize H-1B applicants, often through local newspaper ads that direct candidates to immigration teams. Meta settled with the Department of Justice in 2021 over similar advertising practices, and Apple followed with its own settlement in 2023.
Analyst Warnings
eMarketer analyst Jeremy Goldman warned the U.S. “risks taxing away its innovation edge, trading dynamism for short-sighted protectionism.”
Leavitt clarified that the fee only applies to new petitions, not renewals. Those who already hold H-1B visas and are outside the U.S. will not be required to pay the fee to re-enter.
Political Context
According to reports, the H-1B visa issue has previously divided Trump's circle. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has been a strong supporter of skilled immigration, stating in December, “The reason I’m in America, along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong, is because of the H-1B.”
On the other hand, Vice President J.D. Vance and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have argued for prioritizing American workers over foreign talent.
The new policy also introduces a $1 million “gold card” visa for wealthy investors seeking U.S. citizenship. Existing H-1B holders can continue their usual travel, with the new fee only applying to the next lottery cycle for new applications.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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