September 21, 2025

In a stunning new move, President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that changes the game for tech visas in the U.S. The famous H-1B visa, long a gateway for skilled Indian workers, will now cost a mind-blowing $100,000 a year – a huge leap from the current $215 fee. Plus, Trump rolled out a fancy $1 million "gold card" visa for the super-rich, with a $5 million "platinum card" also in the wings. India’s Ministry of External Affairs quickly responded, saying the plan "was being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry." The ministry warned the fee hike could cause tough "humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families." They hope US officials will find ways to ease these problems. The H-1B visas are designed for high-skilled jobs that American companies – especially in tech – say are hard to fill. However, critics argue these visas "undercut American workers" because foreign workers often accept salaries as low as $60,000, far below typical US tech salaries over $100,000. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed "all big companies" back the changes and said the high fees will cut down H-1B visa numbers because "it's just not economic anymore." He said companies will be pushed to train American workers instead, but if they really want a top foreign engineer, they can shell out the new $100,000 visa fee. The new "gold card" visa, costing $1 million, offers a path to US citizenship after vetting, and companies sponsoring workers must pay $2 million. The even pricier "Trump Platinum Card" at $5 million lets foreigners stay up to 270 days without US taxes on overseas income. These cards will replace several existing work visas with citizenship paths, including ones for professors, scientists, and athletes. Critics of the H-1B system, which they say is often abused to replace American workers, cheered the move. US Tech Workers, an advocacy group, called it "the next best thing" to scrapping the visas altogether. Meanwhile, Doug Rand, a senior official under Biden’s administration, slammed the fee hike as "ludicrously lawless" and mere "fan service for immigration restrictionists." Historically, H-1B visas are awarded by lottery to around 85,000 people yearly, with companies like Amazon, Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple, and Google the top beneficiaries. California hosts the largest number of H-1B workers. Critics say many H-1B jobs are entry-level and lower paid to save company costs. Indian IT giants like Wipro, Infosys, HCL, and Tata, as well as US companies IBM and Cognizant, often hire these foreign workers and contract them out to American firms to cut expenses. Experts like Ron Hira of Howard University see Trump’s fee hike as a sign the visa program’s abuse is finally being noticed, but he notes raising visa fees is an unusual method to fix worker pay issues. Trump’s new rules also call for the US Labor Department to "initiate a rulemaking to revise the prevailing wage levels" for visa holders. Other reform ideas include ditching the random lottery for a bidding auction favoring companies willing to pay top wages. Even first lady Melania Trump once held an H-1B visa back in the 1990s for her modeling career. This year, lottery entries for H-1B visas dropped nearly 40% due to US efforts to stop people "gaming the system" by applying multiple times. Rules now limit applicants to one shot per year, no matter how many job offers they have. Labor groups like AFL-CIO say these steps are good but not enough. They argue for a visa system that prioritizes the highest-paid positions – a goal Trump pursued in his earlier term. The visa drama is far from over, and all eyes are on how the US, India, and tech world battle through this visa storm.

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Tags: H-1b visa, Trump immigration policy, Tech workers, Visa fee hike, Gold card visa, Indian it industry,