{"id":246184,"date":"2025-09-22T11:21:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T11:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/246184\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T11:21:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T11:21:18","slug":"new-york-braces-for-impact-as-h-1b-visa-fees-skyrocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/246184\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Braces for Impact as H-1B Visa Fees Skyrocket"},"content":{"rendered":"

With more H-1B workers than any other metro area in the country, New York City is bracing for the fallout from a sweeping change to the high-skilled visa program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation<\/a> requiring companies filing for new H-1B petitions to pay a $100,000 fee \u2014 an astronomical increase from the previous fee of $215. The<\/a> change to the program was immediate, taking effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday. Although it is scheduled to expire after a year, it could be extended.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Immigration attorney Kathleen Campbell Walker, who works in El Paso, Texas, said the move \u201cinserts total chaos in the existing H-1B process with basically a day\u2019s notice\u201d in a LinkedIn post<\/a> cited by the AP<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Why New York is especially exposed<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Pew Research Center<\/a>, the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area led the nation in H-1B approvals in 2023, with 55,000 applications approved \u2014 nearly double Washington, D.C. or San Jose, California, the next-highest metros.<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s economy relies heavily on international talent across finance, tech, universities and hospitals. While larger corporations might be able to absorb the six-figure cost to bring in new skilled foreign workers, startups, nonprofits and smaller firms likely will not be able to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond economics, the fee could reshape the city\u2019s identity as a hub for global talent. If employers scale back international hiring, New York risks losing researchers, engineers, and creatives to other locales with fewer restrictions, leaving potential long-term scars on the city\u2019s diversity and competitiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New visas for the rich<\/strong><\/p>\n

The H-1B overhaul is part of a broader immigration shake-up. The administration on Friday also launched<\/a> a $1 million \u201cgold card\u201d visa offering a pathway to citizenship for wealthy investors, a $2 million \u201ccorporate gold card\u201d allowing companies to sponsor employees, and is preparing a $5 million \u201cplatinum card\u201d for individuals to live in the U.S. part-time tax-free, pending congressional approval. The executive order gave the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security 90 days to \u201ctake all necessary and appropriate steps\u201d to implement the new pay-to-play program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The administration\u2019s rationale<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump pitched these changes as a way to protect American workers and raise revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing is we\u2019re going to have great people coming in and they\u2019re going to be paying,\u201d Trump told reporters<\/a> as he signed the orders in the Oval Office. \u201cWe\u2019re going to take that money and we\u2019re going to be reducing taxes and we\u2019re going to be reducing debt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, was more direct. \u201cThe company needs to decide \u2026 is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000-a-year payment to the government, or they should head home, and they should go hire an American,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cStop the nonsense of letting people just come into this country on visas that were given away for free. The president is crystal clear: valuable people only for America.\u201d<\/p>\n

The executive order itself, however, proved less than crystal clear. Widespread confusion and panic spread among workers with existing H1-B visas who were abroad when it was announced, unclear if the new fee would apply to them if they didn\u2019t return to the U.S. before Sunday. They cancelled travel plans in India, China, Dubai, Paris and Japan, to name a few locales, hopped off planes mid-taxi<\/a> or spent thousands of dollars on last minute flights<\/a> that would land before the stroke of midnight. The administration later clarified that the fee would apply only to new applications, not existing H-1B visas or renewals. Officials have issued contradictory remarks<\/a> about whether it is a one-time or recurring cost.<\/p>\n

The proclamation<\/a> also orders the Labor Department to raise the minimum salaries employers must pay H-1B workers, but it hasn\u2019t yet said what those new thresholds will be.<\/p>\n

Criticism and legal challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

Critics accuse Trump of sidestepping Congress and warn the new fees will deter hiring, harm families, slow innovation, drive jobs offshore and weaken U.S. competitiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re concerned about the impact on employees, their families and American employers,\u201d Matt Letourneau, spokesman for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said<\/a> in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The changes are likely to face legal challenges, with some groups hoping to file a legal challenge to seek a temporary restraining order within days, The New York Times reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bigger H-1B picture<\/strong><\/p>\n

Government data compiled by the Pew Research Center shows:\u00a0<\/p>\n