According to the US Wall Street Journal on September 24, an industry organization representing the largest technology companies in the United States is urging the Trump administration to revoke a proposal. Under this proposal, most new H-1B visa applications would be subject to a fee of $103,265. This has once again ignited disputes between the White House and Silicon Valley regarding this commonly used visa program for highly skilled immigrants.
Oppositions from the tech industry were submitted on Thursday in the form of public comments, targeting the H-1B fee rules being promoted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
This objection is significant, as while tech companies have always opposed tightening legal immigration channels, they have also consistently supported President Trump’s policies of reducing regulations and tax cuts in recent times.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced last month that the new H-1B application fee would be set at $103,265.
The Trump administration hopes to force businesses to hire more local American employees. Therefore, it has taken unprecedented measures to tighten legal immigration channels, especially those that allow international students to stay in the United States to work after graduation and eventually obtain American citizenship.
This has raised concerns among technology giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google's parent company Alphabet, and Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms. These companies often struggle to find highly skilled employees, and they say that there is not enough talent available in the United States for many highly specialized positions.
The public comment was submitted by TechNet, a technology industry organization. This organization represents the largest internet platform in the United States, as well as major artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
TechNet suggests this policy may put the United States at a disadvantage in competition with China for artificial intelligence.
The organization stated: “This proposal weakens the efforts of the president to enhance America’s global competitiveness. It prevents American companies from obtaining top talent from around the world, which is essential for American businesses to maintain a leading position in global innovation, build successful enterprises, and create prosperity for American communities.”
TechNet also represents many smaller companies. Analysts believe that these companies are likely to be the most affected by this high fee.
TechNet member company NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang and other tech company executives have previously stated that approximately half of the artificial intelligence researchers worldwide are Chinese. This means that restrictive policies could, in turn, harm the interests of the United States.
Some institutions, including the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, have recently found that an increasing number of top scientists from China, Korea, and Europe choose to stay in their home countries rather than move to the United States.
The H-1B visa program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It is one of the main ways for highly skilled foreign workers to enter the United States, and thus it has become an important pillar of the U.S. tech industry and startup ecosystem.
H-1B visa holders can eventually qualify for permanent resident status in the United States, also known as a “green card”, allowing them to reside in the United States indefinitely.
Companies like Amazon hire thousands of employees through the H-1B program every year, which has long been a target of criticism from opponents. Opponents, including Stephen Miller, the Deputy White House Secretary of State, believe that companies use the H-1B program to replace American workers with overseas employees who are cheaper to employ.
Tech companies counter that these foreign employees often hold highly specialized positions and receive competitive salaries, thereby not being so-called cheap labor.
The H-1B issue became a major concern for tech companies about a year ago.
At that time, Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Luteck suddenly announced the issuance of an executive order requiring new and existing H-1B visa holders to pay a fee of $100,000.
This decision immediately caused a great stir in the technology industry. Since companies are unsure whether employees who already hold H-1B visas but are currently abroad should be allowed to re-enter the United States without paying this fee, they have rushed to notify these employees to return to the United States as soon as possible.
Ultimately, the Trump administration clarified that this fee applies only to new H-1B applicants.
American Chamber of Commerce and other organizations subsequently filed a lawsuit to stop this fee-based measure. In June of this year, a federal judge ruled that the policy was invalid.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is currently seeking public feedback on new fee regulations, with a deadline set for Thursday.
This new rule also applies only to new H-1B applicants.
Some people believe that promoting charging through formal administrative rule-making procedures and allowing stakeholders to submit opinions could give this policy a more solid legal foundation than previous administrative orders.
However, those who are skeptical believe that even so, this rule may still face legal challenges.
