After U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 19th (local time) a measure to raise the professional work visa (H-1B) fee 100-fold to $100,000 (about 140 million won), U.S. industry was thrown into severe turmoil. The Trump administration cited protecting American jobs. But in Silicon Valley, there were concerns it was "self-harm that undermines U.S. competitiveness." Some big tech companies (large internet-based IT companies), including Microsoft (MS), decided to review talent outflows and overseas transfer.
According to Forbes, CNBC, and others on the 21st, on the afternoon of the 19th when President Trump signed the executive order, U.S. corporations such as Amazon, Google, and JPMorgan immediately sent urgent notices to H-1B visa-holding employees staying overseas to "return immediately before the new rules take effect." Business Insider, a financial media outlet, reported that on an Emirates flight from San Francisco to India, more than 40 H-1B visa holders deplaned just before takeoff after the new executive order was issued, causing a commotion. The incident delayed the flight's departure by more than three hours.
Even so, as uncertainty failed to clear, corporations moved to respond in ways that minimized risk. Major corporations advised H-1B visa-holding employees staying in the United States to "cancel or hold all overseas travel plans for the time being until further notice." The step aims to avoid the worst-case scenario of leaving and being unable to reenter.
Discord within the Trump administration over the order fueled the initial confusion. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that day that "the fee is charged annually and applies upon visa renewal." But the White House corrected the next day that it is "a one-time fee charged only to new applicants."
Experts said the measure is likely to poison the U.S. innovation ecosystem over the long term. Concerns are especially high about weakening competitiveness in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence (AI). Adam Kovacevich, head of the tech corporations coalition Chamber of Progress, told the New York Times (NYT) that "the top talent in AI is limited, and some are foreign-born," adding, "This measure is like fighting the AI war with one hand tied behind our back against China."
In particular, the small startup sector stands at a crossroads of survival. Large technology corporations can afford the $100,000 fee. For fledgling corporations with tight finances, by contrast, this expense is so fatal it raises existential questions. Didi Das, a partner at venture capital firm Menlo Ventures, told Business Insider, "Early-stage startups pay developers $150,000 to $200,000 in annual salary, and adding a $100,000 fee makes hiring much harder." Gary Tan, head of startup accelerator Y Combinator, wrote on the social media platform X that "this decision destroys the startup base" and "will be a big gift to all overseas tech hubs, including Vancouver and Toronto, Canada."
Some corporations are already turning their eyes to countries other than the United States. An MS executive said, "We could move more employees to Canada, where immigration laws are more favorable," adding, "The United States will fail to collect the $100,000 fee and lose tax revenue of about $100,000 per immigrant each year." A Google manager likewise expected to expand hiring at overseas branches such as Mexico or India.
There are also views defending the Trump administration as bold. Laura Ries, Director General at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, told the NYT that "the $100,000 fee is a 'good start' to reforming the H-1B program." The White House also said in an official statement that it is "a step to stop abuse of H-1B visas that replace Americans with low-wage foreign workers." Citing a specific U.S. corporation anonymously, the White House said, "While this corporation had 5,189 H-1B visas approved in the 2025 fiscal year, it laid off about 16,000 American employees." Major outlets said the corporation the White House pointed to is likely MS, which received 5,198 H-1B visas last year.
The expense U.S. corporations will actually bear is estimated to be astronomical. The Financial Times (FT) of the United Kingdom on the 21st cited U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) statistics to report that last year's new H-1B visa issuances reached 141,000. FT projected that if issuances are similar next year, the total expense U.S. corporations will bear will reach $14 billion (about 20 trillion won) annually. The H-1B visa has been used mainly by the IT sector. According to USCIS statistics, two-thirds of H-1B visa recipients in 2023 were IT industry workers.
Corporations are preparing lawsuits, arguing the measure lacks legal basis. The American Immigration Lawyers Association plans to file suit seeking a temporary restraining order by this weekend. A lawyer at the major law firm Herbert Smith Freehills told FT, "The administration has authority to charge fees to recoup expenses, but $100,000 is a step completely outside its regulatory authority," adding, "It is highly likely the courts will step in."
The government of India, whose nationals account for more than 70% of H-1B beneficiaries, voiced concerns that it "could cause humanitarian problems." Reuters, citing experts, assessed that "in the short term the government could collect a lot of money, but in the long term the United States risks trading dynamism for short-sighted protectionism and losing its innovation edge."
Meanwhile, as President Trump signed the executive order raising H-1B fees that day, he also introduced a "gold card" system that quickly issues green cards for a $1 million (about 1.4 billion won) donation. Labor and immigrant groups criticized it as a "VIP-only entry lane." Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, "Anyone who can donate $1 million has already proven exceptional value to the United States."