Following President Trump’s announcement of a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, the White House released a detailed fact sheet defending the move as a necessary measure to curb program abuse, protect American jobs, and address national security concerns. According to the fact sheet, the H-1B program has been deliberately exploited by some companies to replace U.S. workers with lower-paid foreign labor. The new $100,000 fee, applicable to all new H-1B petitions filed from outside the U.S., is designed to raise the cost of abuse and encourage companies to prioritize high-skilled, high-wage hiring.
The fact sheet highlights that in FY 2003, H-1B workers held 32% of IT jobs, and by 2025, this figure had risen to over 65%, reflecting significant dependence on foreign labor in critical tech sectors. Meanwhile, unemployment among U.S. computer science graduates stands at 6.1%, and for computer engineering graduates, it is 7.5%, more than double that of graduates in biology or art history. From 2000 to 2019, the number of foreign-born STEM workers more than doubled, while overall STEM employment grew only 44.5%, indicating displacement of American talent rather than a genuine shortage.
The fact sheet also cites examples of mass layoffs at H-1B-heavy companies, including firms that laid off thousands of American employees while continuing to hire large numbers of H-1B workers. Reports suggest that in some cases, U.S. tech workers were even required to train their H-1B replacements under non-disclosure agreements, highlighting corporate outsourcing practices. The administration warns that the current H-1B structure discourages young Americans from entering technical fields due to lower job security and wage competition.
The White House frames the issue as a national security concern, arguing that dependence on foreign labor in critical infrastructure sectors, including technology, weakens U.S. resilience. Alongside the fee, broader reforms have been announced, including revising prevailing wage rules to prevent underpayment of H-1B workers and prioritizing visa approvals for higher-paid, high-skill positions. Since Trump returned to office, the administration claims that all job gains have gone to U.S.-born workers, and federal workforce programs now exclude illegal immigrants, ensuring job training resources are reserved for American citizens.
Overall, the $100,000 H-1B visa fee is presented as a direct response to a system that, according to the White House, has favored foreign labor at the expense of American workers and national security.
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