US Narrows Who Pays $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee (wsj.com)
(Tuesday October 21, 2025 @11:24AM (msmash)
from the work-in-progress dept.)
- Reference: 0179843864
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/10/21/1524225/us-narrows-who-pays-100000-h-1b-visa-fee
- Source link: https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/u-s-narrows-who-pays-100-000-h-1b-visa-fee-c019f09f
President Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee will apply [1]only to new visa applicants outside the country , the government confirmed in [2]new guidance on Monday. From a report:
> That means that under the new policy, employers won't need to pay the fee for anyone already living in the U.S., such as international students. The new guidance: Under the new guidance published on Monday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the $100,000 fee will apply only to new applicants living outside the country. Employers will need to pay the fee after their prospective employee's visa is approved, allowing them to move to the U.S.
>
> Previously, the White House had said the fee would apply to all new visa applicants, except those who work for companies or industries that have secured a special waiver. In 2024, roughly 54% of the 141,000 new H-1B visas issued went to immigrants who were already in the U.S. on a different visa type, according to government statistics. If that trend holds, the new fee wouldn't apply to over half of the applicants.
[1] https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/u-s-narrows-who-pays-100-000-h-1b-visa-fee-c019f09f
[2] https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations
> That means that under the new policy, employers won't need to pay the fee for anyone already living in the U.S., such as international students. The new guidance: Under the new guidance published on Monday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the $100,000 fee will apply only to new applicants living outside the country. Employers will need to pay the fee after their prospective employee's visa is approved, allowing them to move to the U.S.
>
> Previously, the White House had said the fee would apply to all new visa applicants, except those who work for companies or industries that have secured a special waiver. In 2024, roughly 54% of the 141,000 new H-1B visas issued went to immigrants who were already in the U.S. on a different visa type, according to government statistics. If that trend holds, the new fee wouldn't apply to over half of the applicants.
[1] https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/u-s-narrows-who-pays-100-000-h-1b-visa-fee-c019f09f
[2] https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations
TACO (Score:3)
by Berkyjay ( 1225604 )
TACO backtracks again.
gross incompetence (Score:2)
by ZipNada ( 10152669 )
"Previously, the White House had said the fee would apply to all new visa applicants", maybe they should have thought things through a little better before slapping on this arbitrary fee. But that isn't how the trump administration rolls, it's everything on a whim. I'll presume that Big Tech paid some hefty bribes to get this modified, plus a sizeable donation to the obscene white house ballroom.
Re: (Score:2)
by fropenn ( 1116699 )
Totally with you on this one. Sheer incompetence in how this was done.
Breaking things, firing people, cancelling programs, attacking friends, bullying people around...all easy. Governing is hard and clearly this administration doesn't have the capability or interest in effectively governing.
Wages (Score:3)
The only affect of this is that it will cause companies to complain more loudly about not being able to find people. They will never raise wages or salaries TO find people.