Starting in 2026, President Donald Trump plans to crank up the H-1B visa cost to $100,000. This could dramatically reshape how companies approach foreign hiring.
That’s over ten times more than what it was under President Joe Biden. Here’s a closer look at what that means for U.S. companies competing for global talent, as well as the reaction from Trump’s own supporters.
See Also: Trump ‘Gold Card’ Visa Price Slashed By 80%, Expert Calls It ‘Admission Of Failure’
What Is The H-1B Visa Program?
Before 1990, the H-1 visa existed under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, but it was limited and did not specifically address the needs of the modern labor market.
Eventually, the Immigration Act of 1990 — signed into law by President George H. W. Bush — established the H-1B visa program to allow U.S. employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations temporarily.
The act aimed to address skill shortages in fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing a legal pathway for foreign professionals to work in the U.S., as long as they had at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
How Has H-1B Changed?
Since its inception, the H-1B program has undergone various amendments to address evolving economic needs and changes within the U.S. labor market. For example, in 2004, the H-1B Visa Reform Act introduced a $500 fraud prevention and detection fee per petition. It also included an ACWIA (American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998) training fee of $750 for employers with 25 or fewer employees and $1,500 for larger employers.
2024: The cost for an employer to sponsor an H-1B visa in the U.S. varied based on company size, visa type, and processing speed. For a standard petition, the total cost ranges from approximately $1,700 to $8,000. See the breakdown below:
| FEE TYPE | AMOUNT (USD) | NOTES |
| Registration | $215 | Required for all new cap-subject petitions. |
| Base Filing Fee | $460 (small employers & nonprofits) / $780 (others) | Paid when submitting Form I-129. |
| Anti-Fraud | $500 | Applies to most employers. |
| ACWIA Training | $750 (≤25 employees) / $1,500 (>25 employees) | Applies to most employers; exceptions exist for specific nonprofits and educational institutions. |
| Public Law 114-113 | $4,000 | Applies to employers with >50 employees where >50% are on H-1B or L-1 visas. |
| Premium Processing Fee | $2,805 | Optional: Expedites processing to 15 calendar days. |
| Legal Counsel | Varies | Costs could range, per hour, from $150 to $700 (in NYC). |
| Asylum Program | $300 (≤25 employees) / $600 (>25 employees) | Applies to all Form I-129 petitions; nonprofits are exempt. |
These fees are typically considered a business expense for the employer.
2025: Trump signed a “proclamation” to restrict U.S. entry of certain “H-1B aliens as nonimmigrant workers,” requiring a one-time $100,000 payment for new applications beginning in 2026.
The White House did not provide any evidence that there were abuses or national security issues at stake.
It’s essential to note that a new $100,000 cost for H-1B visa applications will apply to new petitions starting in 2026, not to current visa holders or renewals.
Who’s Involved?
Stephen Miller, a key Trump adviser, is regarded as the architect of the White House’s current immigration policies. His hardline stance has alienated him from some of the president’s most staunch supporters and donors, including billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who have called for the U.S. to admit more foreign tech workers.
Both Musk and Ramaswamy are currently out of favor with Trump.
According to H1B Grader and the Economic Policy Institute, the following companies utilize the program the most:
- Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
- Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSH)
- Ernst & Young
- Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (NSE: TCS)
- Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL)
- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
- Infosys Ltd (NYSE: INFY)
- Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META)
- Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC)
- HCL America, Inc. (NSE: HCLTECH)
Billion-dollar market cap firms aren’t the only ones affected by Trump’s new rule. In the tech startup market, where every dollar of venture capital counts, a six-figure fee could be “crippling,” the BBC reports.
Miller reportedly owns a significant amount of stock in ICE contractor Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR).
What's The Market Reaction?
The stock market didn’t react to the Trump administration’s plan. Still, many of Trump’s supporters and critics, alike, chimed in.
- Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) co-founder and former CEO Reed Hastings backed the $100,000 H-1B visa fee, calling it a “great solution.”
- “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary argued that Trump’s new H-1B policy will “hurt innovation long-term,” adding that the U.S. should not spend resources training top foreign students only to “kick them out.”
- Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman described the newly instituted policy as "disastrous" for American leadership across several sectors such as tech, education and research.
- Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), voiced his belief in a “merit-based immigration” system and urged Trump to consider “good immigration,” adding, “I would beg the President.”
Musk, one of Trump’s top donors ahead of the 2024 election, defended the H-1B visa program vehemently in December. Nowadays, he’s tight-lipped on the new policy. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), it’s worth noting, is currently in a class action lawsuit in federal court due to allegations that it favors foreign visa holders over U.S. citizens in hiring and firing decisions.
What’s Next?
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, linked mass deportations and strict immigration policies to rising costs and inflation. Expect inflation to climb from 2.5% to nearly 4% by early next year, he says.
Why? Because Trump's nativist policies have already shrunk the U.S. labor force and will continue to do so. Census data showed a disappearance of over 1.2 million immigrants—both legal and undocumented—between January and July 2025. That drop is hitting job creation hard, as immigrants typically account for at least half of U.S. job growth, noted Pia Orrenius of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
A July paper from the American Enterprise Institute projects that negative net migration could reduce GDP growth by 0.3%–0.4% due to lower consumer spending and a smaller workforce. Co-authors warned the U.S. cannot sustain high job growth relying solely on the native-born population.
Still, experts and immigration lawyers anticipate further restrictions, increased processing delays, and a more hostile environment for H-1B holders under Miller’s guidance.
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