On September 20, according to Reuters, the Trump administration said on Friday that it would require companies to pay US$100,000 per year for each H-1B work visa.This could deal a major blow to the tech industry, which relies heavily on Indian and Chinese technology workers.
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Since taking office in January, Trump has launched a wide-ranging crackdown on immigration that includes restrictions on some forms of legal immigration. The charge for H-1B visas is the Trump administration’s most high-profile attempt to reform temporary work visas to date.
"If you're going to train someone, train people who are fresh out of our great universities across the country. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
U.S. government data shows that the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year was India, accounting for 71% of approved beneficiaries. China ranks second with a share of 11.7%, but it is far lower than India.
In the first half of 2025, Amazon and its cloud computing unit AWS received more than 12,000 H-1B visa approvals. Microsoft and Meta each received more than 5,000 H-1B visa approvals.
U.S. tech giants are major beneficiaries of H-1B visas
"All major companies support a $100,000-a-year H-1B visa fee. We've talked to them," Lutnick said Friday.
Many large U.S. technology, banking and consulting firms declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Cognizant Technology Solutions, an IT services company that relies heavily on H-1B visa holders, saw its shares close down nearly 5% on Friday. The share prices of Infosys and Wipro, Indian technology companies listed in the United States, fell between 2% and 5%.
Currently, the U.S. H-1B program provides 65,000 visas to employers each year to bring in temporary foreign employees in professional fields, and an additional 20,000 visas are reserved for applicants with advanced degrees.
Under the current system, there is only a small fee to participate in the visa lottery. If selected and approved, subsequent fees could total thousands of dollars. Almost all visa costs must be borne by the employer. H-1B visa approval is generally valid for three to six years.