Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee Slammed by U.S. Businesses

A coalition of business groups has warned President Donald Trump that a newly announced $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications risks harming the U.S. economy and urged the administration to avoid changes to the skilled worker program that would impose additional burdens on companies, Maggie Eastland reported for Bloomberg News.

Higher costs from the new fees threaten to hit a wide range of industries — from technology to health care to finance.

In a letter sent to Trump recenty, roughly a dozen industry organizations representing chipmakers, software firms, and retailers said the new fee threatens to crimp a crucial pipeline of foreign skilled workers and leave key positions unfilled.

“We ask the administration to work with industry on necessary reforms to the H-1B visa program without increasing the significant challenges U.S. employers face in recruiting, training, and retaining top talent,” the groups wrote.

The letter — sent two weeks after the president’s H-1B proclamation — was signed by the Business Software Alliance, the semiconductor industry’s SEMI, the National Retail Federation, the Entertainment Software Association, and the Information Technology Industry Council, according to a copy seen by Bloomberg News. 

The industry groups’ objections mark a rare rebuke from the business community toward U.S. policy under the new administration.

Trump announced the H-1B changes at the White House last month, touting the $100,000 fee as a way to rein in abuses of the skilled worker program while encouraging U.S. companies to rely more on domestic talent.

But higher costs from the new fees threaten to hit a wide range of industries — from technology to healthcare to finance.

Companies including Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc., and Walmart Inc. have long relied on the skilled worker program to bolster their workforces, and changes to the program could disrupt their talent pipelines.

Intel Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Samsung Electronics Co., Applied Materials Inc., and KLA Corp. all have executives serving on SEMI’s board.