US EditionTrump's H-1B Visa Move Comes After Congressional Inaction
The $100,000 H-1B visa fee starting FY27 raises fears of reduced hiring in US tech startups and potential offshoring, with a 100x surge in legal inquiries reported by a San Francisco firm.
- On September 19, the Trump administration announced a sweeping H-1B overhaul, raising the application fee to $100,000 starting in FY27 and prompting companies to pause recruitment.
- The administration says the reforms curb misuse, protect American workers, and boost transparency in the highly competitive H-1B visa program facing tight demand versus supply.
- Alma reported a 100x surge in inquiries, immigration lawyers expect litigation, and companies were already weighing expansion in India with Accenture proposing about 12,000 jobs.
- Founders and investors warn the plan could freeze hiring and push top engineers to friendlier markets overseas, while investors say higher costs favor well-capitalised firms and force deliberate hiring.
- Many analysts warn that proposed wage-based visa shifts could reverse decades of skilled migration and threaten U.S. startup innovation, with 141,000 H-1B approvals last year.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Trump’s H-1B overhaul could kneecap startups in the talent wars.
Trump’s proposed H-1B changes have sent startups scrambling. wildpixel/Getty Images For US startups, the past few days have felt like whiplash. President Donald Trump’s $100,000 H-1B fee threw founders and their employees into chaos, and a fresh proposal to overhaul the visa lottery has left founders fearing they can’t compete with deep-pocketed Big Tech companies for talent. Now, some young companies have frozen hiring as they scramble for clar…
New York, United States.- President Donald Trump's plans to impose $100,000 fees on new H-1B visa applications will disproportionately harm the U.S. startup sector, declared CNBC founders and venture capital investors. H-1B visas, which allow companies to temporarily hire foreign workers in skilled occupations such as computer science, health and engineering, were already difficult to get for startups due to limited annual quotas, said CNBC.
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