Trump's H-1B Visa Overhaul: What it Means for High-Skilled Workers and Industries (2025)

President Donald Trump is overhauling a visa program intended for high-skilled workers by hiking the application fee to $100,000 annually from $215. It's the latest step from the Trump administration aimed at limiting legal immigration. The move could shake up hiring strategies in major industries like technology, finance, health care and higher education. The H-1B visa program aims to bring in foreign workers for high-skilled, hard-to-fill jobs. Historically, these visas have been awarded through a lottery system. Opponents argue that businesses are abusing the program to pay overseas workers lower wages. At a press conference on Friday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the steeper application fee will incentivize companies to hire Americans instead. He predicted program usage will ultimately fall below the current 85,000 annual cap as a result. "Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs," Lutnick said. This year, top recipients of H-1B visas included Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Google.In the past, debates over the future of the program have divided members of Trump's coalition. Some have called for lower caps or eliminating H-1B visas entirely. Big Tech allies, like billionaire Elon Musk (a former H-1B recipient), contend the program plays a critical role in keeping American businesses competitive by attracting top talent from around the world."The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low," Musk posted in December during a social media spat on this topic. "Think of this like a pro sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win." Also on Friday, Trump rolled out a new visa pathway that he's calling the "Trump Gold Card." It allows vetted individuals to pay $1 million in exchange for an expedited process and a pathway to lawful permanent resident status, according to the program's website. Corporations sponsoring individuals would have to pay $2 million. "It's going to raise billions of dollars, billions and billions of dollars, which is going to reduce taxes, pay off debt, and other good things," Trump said. Critics argue that Trump can't take these steps without approval from Congress. The plan is expected to face legal challenges.