Trump to impose $100,000 yearly fee on H1-B workers

[libertysnake]

Something I can absolutely get behind. If the worker is THAT specalized, $100,000 a year is a drop in the bucket to bring them in. This is long overdue to counter the wage deflation and false narratives around needing H1-B workers constantly that tech companies spin.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-mulls-adding-new-100000-fee-h-1b-visas-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-09-19/

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

Any that can, will just work remotely from India or wherever. The companies that require in-person will cover the cost and pass it on to us.

 

[RedBreast21]

So this is actually a good incentive to stop companies from firing US workers. Example. Lets say a company has IT workers earning 125k to 150k annually and then want to reduce the costs of employing them. They fire them or offer a package then hire foreign workers under a specialty like Technology Associate and pay them around 45k using the H1B visa program. If they now have to pay up a 100k to the govt, it kind of stops that whole BS process. Swapping experience for inexperienced workers without any gain. I am all for this. There is more that can be done to promote US employment and it should be done.

I would also like to see a 80-90% western union tax on cash transfers to certain countries. This would either reduce foreign illegal workers from coming to work here or create a cash transport netwok going south and we already criminalize cash holdings while traveling so more money for local PD's. lol

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

So this is actually a good incentive to stop companies from firing US workers. Example. Lets say a company has IT workers earning 125k to 150k annually and then want to reduce the costs of employing them. They fire them or offer a package then hire foreign workers under a specialty like Technology Associate and pay them around 45k using the H1B visa program. If they now have to pay up a 100k to the govt, it kind of stops that whole BS process. Swapping experience for inexperienced workers without any gain. I am all for this. There is more that can be done to promote US employment and it should be done.

I would also like to see a 80-90% western union tax on cash transfers to certain countries. This would either reduce foreign illegal workers from coming to work here or create a cash transport netwok going south and we already criminalize cash holdings while traveling so more money for local PD's. lol

How many of these jobs actually need to be here vs can be handled from another country?

Also, that cost is spread out over at least 3 years, so American workers will still be more expensive.

 

[libertysnake]

Any that can, will just work remotely from India or wherever. The companies that require in-person will cover the cost and pass it on to us.

They can't work remotely in all industries due to regulation. They need to be in the USA to be bound by US law.

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

They can't work remotely in all industries due to regulation. They need to be in the USA to be bound by US law.

Mostly for national security reasons, right?

 

[libertysnake]

Mostly for national security reasons, right?

No. A lot of industries have diffirent regs or laws. I remember working with H1-B guys before, and HR told them they couldn't take the laptop from the country for legal reasons among others. They wouldn't let them work remotely. The job wasn't even government related.

Because once they're remote, US laws don't apply the same way when you have control of them being on-shore.

 

[RedBreast21]

I don't know if anyone is paying attention to US industry and its reaction to the Trump administration. I don't see anyone fighting back and openly exposing their companies lack of ethics when it comes to American workers. Sure Walmart and Target got caught price gouging. Blaming tariffs. But it barely made the news as the Trump Social Media team went into action and corrective action with press releases from the companies diluted and protected them from what would have been an enormous amount of outrage and back lash.

I have always checked the US labor department and the number of H1B visa request and under what specialties and I can tell you the requests are down in numbers. We do lack certain specialties for sure. But the the re-designations of certain job descriptions, (word salads) is almost gone.In short, its all heading in the right direction.

 

[libertysnake]

India warns new US H-1B visa fee will have 'humanitarian consequences'

Donald Trump has said those applying for H-1B visas will have to pay $100,000, roughly 60 times the current fee, starting Sunday.

www.bbc.com

Yes, that is correct. Our family quality of life is going to go up, because our wages won't be deflated by people being brought here from India to work for pennies.

Our primary responsibility is to America, not India. Sorry, buddy.

 

[SonOfSun]

This is a good thing. I support this change.

 

[Cavalry]

I have mixed feelings about this. I am in an industry that has been pushed out/left the US in the last few decades. There are no Americans with technical expertise, they are all retiring with few replacements. The only technical people are from other countries because that is where the action still is.

They can put all the surcharges they want on a visa. Its just going to drive up the cost of the product to make up the difference and hurt the US company in the meantime. I would gladly hire an American, but they do not exist.