President Donald Trump’s new $100,000 fee for high-skill H-1B visas only applies to new applicants, a White House official told The Post Saturday, as companies that heavily rely on foreign workers scrambled to respond to the changes.
The order, which takes effect Sunday at 12:01 a.m. ET, bars H-1B workers from reentering the United States after that unless their sponsoring employer pays the fee.
But it was is unclear which workers would be impacted.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick initially said Friday when Trump signed the executive order the $100,000 fee would be annual – not one-time – but cautioned details were still being ironed out.
The White House official clarified the terms to The Post the next day, saying the fee is one-time and will only apply to new visa applications — not renewals and current H-1B holders.
Companies and immigrants lawyers have been urging workers on the visas to stay in the country or try to get back before the deadline, according to multiple reports.
Tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon and JPMorgan — which rely heavily on the visa holders — advised them to remain in the U.S. following Friday’s proclamation, according to internal emails reviewed by Reuters.
“H-1B visa holders who are currently in the U.S. should remain in the U.S. and avoid international travel until the government issues clear travel guidance,” read an email sent to JPMorgan employees by Ogletree Deakins, a company that handles visa applications for the U.S. investment bank.
Microsoft, JPMorgan, law firm Ogletree Deakins, which represents the bank on the issue, and Amazon,
did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment
The new rules won’t apply until the next year’s lottery cycle for H-1B visas, which require at least a bachelor’s degree and are meant for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill.
Critics say the program is a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for as little as $60,000 annually, well below the $100,000-plus salaries typically paid to U.S. technology workers.
Lutnick said the order’s intent is to pressure companies hire and train US workers, instead of hiring foreign workers.
“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,” Lutnick said.
The White House is particularly concerned with U.S. students shunning STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields due to foreign competition and views the presence of foreign workers as a national security threat.
“President Trump promised to put American workers first, and this commonsense action does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down wages,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Saturday. “It also gives certainty to American businesses who actually want to bring high-skilled workers to our great country but have been trampled on by abuses of the system.”
Trump signed a second executive order allowing those willing to pay $1 million to get expedited treatment on visa applications for his “Gold Card.” Corporations that want to sponsor an applicant for a “Gold Card” will have to pay $2 million.
The “Trump Platinum Card” will be available for a $5 million and allow foreigners to spend up to 270 days in the U.S. without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income. Trump announced a $5 million gold card in February to replace an existing investor visa — this is now the platinum card.
With Post wires.
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