US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications. This move has sent shockwaves through the US tech sector and raised questions about American immigration priorities.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended the decision, stating, “Either the person should be valuable enough or they should head home.” He added, “The Company needs to decide. Do they want? Is the person valuable enough to have a hundred thousand dollars a year payment to the government, or should they head home, and they should go higher in America?”
“Companies need to decide if a foreign worker is valuable enough to pay $100,000 per year to the US government. If not, that worker will have to head home,” says US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on new H1B visa restrictions pic.twitter.com/8N97GlR9u8— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) September 19, 2025
“Stop this nonsense of letting people come to America on visas for free. Only valuable people are welcome,” says US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hiking H1B visa fee pic.twitter.com/SwGh3D9sih— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) September 19, 2025
He further stated, “If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs.”
Trump’s focus on H-1B visas has long been a flashpoint for the tech industry, which relies heavily on foreign talent. Government data indicate that approximately two-thirds of H-1B jobs are in computer-related fields, although the program is also utilized to hire engineers, educators, and healthcare professionals.
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