H-1B visa fee shock: Business groups warn Donald Trump, cite risks to US economy
A coalition of business groups has cautioned President Donald Trump that the recently announced fee hike for H-1B visa applications to $100,000 (over ₹88 lakh) could negatively impact the US economy.
The groups urged the administration to refrain from implementing changes to the skilled worker program that would place additional financial and administrative burdens on companies relying on foreign talent.
In a letter to Donald Trump, about a dozen industry organisations representing chipmakers, software companies and retailers said the new fee threatens to crimp a crucial talent pipeline of foreign skilled workers and leave critical jobs unfilled.
The business group said, “We ask the administration to work with industry on necessary reforms to the H-1B visa program without increasing the significant challenges US employers face recruiting, training, and retaining top talent.”
The letter was sent to President Trump two weeks after his H-1B proclamation. It also acknowledged his efforts to attract investment to the US.
Signatories included the Business Software Alliance, semiconductor industry group SEMI, the National Retail Federation, the Entertainment Software Association, and the Information Technology Industry Council, according to a copy obtained by Bloomberg News.
The industry groups’ objections marked a rare rebuke from the business community of US policy under the new administration. Trump announced the H-1B changes at the White House last month, heralding the $100,000 fee as a way to rein in abuses in the skilled worker program while pushing US companies to turn more to domestic talent to fill jobs.
The new H-1B fees could significantly impact industries ranging from technology and healthcare to finance. Companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Walmart have long relied on the skilled worker program to strengthen their workforce, and any changes to the program threaten to disrupt their talent pipelines.
Cutting-edge sectors like artificial intelligence and biomedical engineering will need a high-skilled workforce to sustain their pace of growth in the US, the groups wrote. The H-1B changes risk hurting progress in those key areas, the groups said. Intel Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Samsung Electronics Co., Applied Materials Inc. and KLA Corp. all have members on SEMI’s board.
“The new approach to H-1B visas, as it stands, will harm the Administration’s goals to ensure the US remains a leader in AI, revitalizes manufacturing growth, and propels US-developed energy,” the groups wrote.