Visa fees are part of Trump’s strategy to support us more than foreign-born workers as part of a greater crackdown on immigration.
The State Department may require visa applicants to post bonds to enter the US
The State Department proposes that applicants will require for business and tourist visas to list bonds of up to $15,000 to enter the United States.
Scripps News
- Trump has applied $100,000 for an H-1B visa, which is primarily used by high-tech workers.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has introduced an annual application fee of $100,000 on special visas widely used by technology companies to introduce foreign workers.
Trump has also signed an executive order to create a “gold card” for foreigners to pay $1 million to stay in the country forever, like a residency document known as the “green card.” He said that price tags ensure only the most extraordinary workers will receive them, and companies pay something similar to signing bonuses in professional sports.
“Hopefully we’ll bring great people to our country,” Trump said. “In this way, companies are like baseball and soccer signature bonuses, and businesses can keep them in the country.”
Trump’s fees are part of his strategy of supporting US citizens over foreign workers, and are in the wider crackdown on immigration. This includes the massive deportation of undocumented immigrants and the end of allowing asylum seekers to enter the country while lawsuits are pending. The State Department announced in August that visa holders would need $15,000 in bonds under the new program.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the so-called green cards are awarded to 281,000 people a year, earning an average of $66,000, and are likely to receive public assistance. He said the gold card fee ensures that only the best workers remain forever.
“It was illogical,” Rutnick said. “We’re going to bring only extraordinary people to the top.”
Lutnick said he supports major tech companies paying $100,000 a year to sponsor the best workers.
“All the big companies are on board,” Rutnik said.
The federal government has distributed 85,000 H-1B visas per year, primarily for high-tech employment, and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it has received sufficient annual petitions starting October 1st. Amazon has approved more than 10,000 visas and Meta each approved more than 5,000 visas this year.
The H-1B visa program is reserved for people who are frequently employed in technology, such as software engineers, high-tech program managers and other IT professionals. Visas have been approved for 3-6 years.
According to government data, India was the largest beneficiary of the H-1B visa last year, with 71% of approved beneficiaries being approved. China was the second distant number at 11.7%.
Visa critics, including many American technology workers, have argued that businesses will use H-1B visa workers to curb wages and hand over Americans for work.
Contribution: Reuters
