Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee sparks clash over foreign teachers in California classrooms

Trump H-1B fee ignites schools backlash

A proposed $100,000 fee to hire foreign workers has triggered fresh debate in California, where school districts warn that the Trump administration’s latest H-1B visa rule could worsen an already critical teacher shortage. MAGA activists argue the programme is being stretched to cover routine classroom roles and is displacing Americans with foreign teachers.

Since September, US employers have been required to pay a $100,000 sponsorship fee for new H-1B visas, in addition to existing application costs ranging from $9,500 to $18,800. The visas allow skilled foreign workers to live and work in the United States and are most commonly linked to the technology sector. In California, however, school districts have increasingly relied on them to staff classrooms.

Data from the California Department of Education show that districts filed more than 300 H-1B visa applications for the 2023–24 school year, twice as many as two years earlier. Many of the recruits were brought in to fill posts in dual-language programmes, special education and, in some cases, physical education.

California continues to face a severe teacher shortage. In 2023, nearly 47,000 teaching roles were filled by staff working outside their credentials, while more than 22,000 positions remained vacant. The shortfalls were most acute in English language development and special education.

Another example of how H1B visas are used to hire foreigners when an American could easily fill the roll… https://t.co/9uLPhDKqfW

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— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 14, 2025

West Contra Costa Unified School District, east of San Francisco, turned to overseas recruitment to address staffing gaps, hiring about 88 teachers on H-1B visas, mainly from the Philippines, Spain and Mexico. Education leaders say the new fee could make such recruitment financially unviable.

Teachers’ unions have warned that curbing international hires would increase workloads and disrupt students’ learning.

The policy has also reignited questions over whether H-1B visas are being used for roles considered “less specialised”. A physical education teacher identified as HR, working on a short-term J-1 visa, said he could be forced to leave once his visa expires. “Everybody says here that they need teachers in California … but they don’t want to do anything to [help us stay] here,” he said.

Within weeks of the announcement, a coalition of worker groups, unions and religious organisations filed a lawsuit against the administration, arguing that the fee would harm education and healthcare.

International teachers say the uncertainty has left them feeling unwelcome. “I feel like it’s a form of discrimination to impose