President Donald Trump’s recent plan to reform the immigration system in the United States has created a jamming, leaving the White House to make it clear that new $ 100,000 fees for visas for skilled workers apply only to new applicants and not current visa holders.
On Friday, Trump signed an advertisement that requires payment of annual fees worth $ 100,000 for visa, which is for high skills jobs that technology companies find it difficult to fill.
“Those who are already carrying H-1B visas and now outside the country will not be imposed on $ 100,000.” “This only applies to new visas, not renovations, not current visa holders.”
Fees are at 12:01 am on Sunday. It is scheduled to end after a year. But it can be extended if the government decides that the United States is important to keep it.
The White House, in a post on social media, sought to clarify the new rule “does not affect the ability of any current visa holder to travel to/from the United States”
But according to the immigration lawyer, the White House step threatened to raise the lives of many skilled workers and have a long -term impact on American business.
“Including the total chaos in the current H-1B operation with one-day notification,” Kathleen Campbell Walker, who is located with Decnecson Wright and based in El Passo.
On Friday, Trade Minister Howard Lootnick told correspondents that the fees would be an annual cost of companies.
But a White House official said on Saturday that he was “one time fee.” When asked if Lutnick’s comments were created, the official, who was not permitted to publicly comment and spoke on the condition that his identity is not disclosed, said that the new fees “do not currently apply to renovations but this policy is under discussion.”
If the moves survived the legal crowd, it will make an amazing increase in prices. The visa fee for skilled workers will jump from $ 215.
The visa plan for India disrupts families
The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday that the Trump plan “is all studied, including the Indian industry.”
The ministry warned that “this measure is likely to have humanitarian consequences through the disturbance caused by families. The government hopes that the American authorities will be able to address these turmoil appropriately.”
More than 70 percent of H-1B visa holders from India. H-1B visas require at least a Bachelor’s degree.
Critics argue that the program undermines American workers, as people from abroad and who are often ready to work for less than 60,000 dollars annually. This is much lower than the salaries of more than $ 100,000 that are usually paid to American technology workers.
On Friday, Trump insisted that the technology industry will not oppose this step, while Lootnick said “all major companies” on board.
Representatives of the largest technology companies – including Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta – immediately did not respond to the comment messages. Microsoft rejected the comment.
“We are concerned about the influence of employees, their families and American employers,” said the American Chamber of Commerce. “We are working with management and our members to understand the full effects and the best path forward.”
Lootnick said that the change is likely to lead to much less H-1B visas, which allows the annual maximum of 85,000 because it “is no longer economical anymore.”
“If you are going to train people, you will train the Americans,” Lootnick said in a phone call with the correspondents. “If you have a very sophisticated engineer and want to bring them … you can pay $ 100,000 annually for your H-1B visa.”
Trump has also announced that he will start selling a gold card visa with a road to American citizenship for a million dollars after examining it. For companies, it will cost $ 2 million to care for the employee.
“Service of fans to restrict immigration”
The Trump Platinum card will be available for $ 5 million and allows foreigners to spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subjected to US tax on non -American income. Trump has announced a $ 5 million gold card in February to replace the current investor visa-this is the platinum card now.
Lootnick said that gold and platinum cards will replace the visas based on employment that provide tracks for citizenship, including for professors, scientists, artists and athletes.
Some of the H-1B visas who say they are used to replacing American workers applauded this step.
The federal government has quietly updated the online travel advice to remind the Canadians that it “expects a scrutiny” from the border patrol officers if they travel to the United States.
American technology workers, a support group, described it as “the best thing” to completely cancel visas.
Doug Rand, a senior official in US citizenship and immigration services during the Joe Biden administration, said the increase in the proposed fees of $ 100,000 was “ridiculous.”
“This is not a real policy – it is the service of fans to restrict immigration,” Rand said. “Trump gets his addresses and leads to a trend of panic, and does not care whether this remains in a first contact with the courts.”
“The president has no legal authority to impose taxes on American visas,” said Michael Clemens, an economist at George Mason University. “He has the authority to impose reasonable fees to recover costs, and the fees do not specify the amount of 100,000 dollars, or 100 million dollars, or whatever it is suitable for his personal parents …
“If the president feels that H-1B visas are harmful, he can work with the representatives of the people in the Congress to reform the laws that regulate these visas. His choice of legislation through advertising completely spoils our system of immigration ruling,” said Clemens, who is also an older colleague at the Peterson International Economy Institute.
“Moreover, it is not responsible to do so without any warning, and no public debate, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers and millions of their colleagues and members of their family in chaos and fear.”
Lutnick said that the H-1B fees and a gold card can be presented by the president, but the platinum card will need to be the approval of Congress.
Vision from the lottery
Historically, H-1B visas were removed through the lottery. This year, Amazon was the best H-1B reference recipient with more than 10,000 granted, followed by Tata Consultance, Microsoft, Apple and Google. Geographical, California has the largest number of H-1B workers.
Some critics say that H-1B spots often go to beginners’ jobs, instead of higher positions with unique skill requirements. They say although the program is supposed to reduce American wages or replace American workers, companies can pay less by classifying jobs at the lowest levels of skill, even if specified workers have a greater experience.
As a result, many American companies find that it is cheaper to contract with assistance, programming offices and other basic tasks for consulting companies such as WIPRO, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tata in India, IBM and Cognizant in the United States, consulting companies employ foreign workers, often from India, and their communication with US employees looking for Money.
Ron Hera, a professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Howard and a long-term critic of H-1B visas, said the plan was a step in the right direction.
“It is a recognition that the program is subjected to abuse,” he said.
He said that raising the visa fees was an unusual way to address the shortcomings of the H-1B program. Hera said that the reformists are looking for ways to raise the salaries of foreign workers, eliminating the incentive for their use to replace the Americans with higher wages.
He indicated that Trump’s announcement calls on the US Department of Labor to “start setting rules to review the prevailing wages levels” under the visa program.
Those who oppose the H-1B visas also called for replacing the lottery with a auction in which companies are competing for the right to bring foreign workers.
Melania Trump received the H-1B visa in the nineties
Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, former Melania Knus, was granted a H-1B work visa in October 1996 to work as a model. I was born in Slovenia.
In 2024, the lottery bids for visas decreased nearly 40 percent, which the authorities said as a result of success against the people who were “playing the system” by submitting multiple requests, sometimes doubtful, to increase the chances of selection unfairly.
The main technology companies that use H-1B visas have sought changes after huge increases in bids that left their employees and potential appointments with less-ranging chances to win the random lottery. In the face of what she confessed to is likely to be fraud and ill -treatment, American citizenship and immigration services said this year that every employee has only one shot in the lottery, whether the person has one or 50 job offer.
Critics welcomed the change, but they said more to do. AFL-CIO wrote last year that although changes on the lottery “included some steps in the right direction”, they were less than the necessary reforms. The working group wants visas granted to companies that pay the highest wages instead of the random lottery, a change that Trump sought during his first term at the White House.
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