US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. Bonnie Cash | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Trump administration said on Friday it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas, potentially dealing a big blow to the technology sector that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China.
Since taking office in January, Trump has kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown, including moves to limit some forms of legal immigration. The move to reshape the H-1B visa program represents his administration’s most high-profile effort so far to rework temporary employment visas.
“A hundred thousand dollars a year for H1-B visas, and all of the big companies are on board. We’ve spoken to them,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Friday.
“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,” he said.
Tech industry vs. Trump