Employment tends to concentrate in the STEM sector, with workers overwhelmingly coming from India.
Trump offers a million dollar gold card
President Donald Trump has announced a $1 million “gold card” and higher H1-B fees, claiming it will cut taxes and debt.
The special visa, which President Donald Trump currently faces a fee of $100,000, has long been favored by Silicon Valley to attract engineers.
On September 19, Trump declared that the H-1B non-immigrant visa program was “deliberately misused” to replace American workers with low-paid, less skilled workers. To address this, Trump said he has introduced a $100,000 application fee for businesses applying for H-1B visas, with the discretion of Homeland Security Secretary Christie Norm to exempt workers. Research shows that visa workers complement American workers due to different skill sets.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said everything “with big companies on board,” but the H-1B is essential to the country’s high-tech industry, and Trump’s fees are likely to face legal challenges. Here’s what you need to know about the H-1B visa:
How do people qualify for H-1B?
The visa category allows employers to perform in “professional” – at least a bachelor’s degree – according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, seeking highly educated workers.
Before employers can file USCIS petitions, foreign workers must show that foreign workers do not harm American workers, the U.S. Immigration Council, an advocacy group for immigration advocacy groups, said in a 2024 fact sheet. This will prove via the Department of Labor that H-1B workers do not affect wages or working conditions for similar American workers, USCIS said. Existing workers should also be notified of the company’s plan to hire visa workers.
How much is the visa?
According to USCIS, people are usually allowed for up to three years, but can be extended to six years. There are other options to extend your visa, such as obtaining an approved immigration visa petition based on an employment-based category for individuals with exceptional abilities.
How many H-1Bs are awarded each year?
The federal government will limit the new H-1B visas to 65,000 and add 20,000 visas for those who have earned a master’s degree or higher from higher education institutions in the United States.
The majority of H-1B approvals come from updated applications, says Pew Research Center. Of the approximately 400,000 approvals for 2024, nearly two-thirds have been updated.
What kind of work do H-1B workers do?
According to the American Council on Immigration, employment tends to be concentrated in the STEM field.
USCIS data shows that Amazon has the most H-1B visa approved this year, with over 10,000 people approved. Microsoft, Meta and Indian IT Company’s Tata each had over 5,000 visas approved, with Apple and Google each with over 4,000 visas.
Scientific researchers and medical professionals are also often H-1B visa holders. The U.S. Immigration Council has received H-1B approval for 3,310 Biophysists, Chemist, Sciences, Scienceists, Scienceists, Scienceists, Chemist, Checryists, Checryists, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist, Chemist According to a study by the Journal of the American Medical Association, applicants for the H-1B visa accounted for 1.4% of all practice physicists.
Where do people come from?
According to Pew, almost three H-1B workers are coming from India. On September 20, India’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the costs of the new US could have “humanitarian consequences” by disrupting families.
China sends the largest number of H-1B workers, next to H-1B workers, at around 12%. The rest of the world accounts for around 16% of H-1B workers.
In a statement on September 20th, Nasscom, India’s industry association for high-tech industries, said Trump’s change could have “ripple effects” on American innovation and the wider employment economy.
