Trump creates new immigration fees $100,000 for tech visas, $1M for permanent residency – President Donald Trump introduced a $100,000 yearly application cost for special visas that are extensively utilized by technology companies to bring in foreign workers. Trump also signed an executive order to create a “gold card” allowing foreigners to spend $1 million to remain in the nation permanently, like the residence permits known as “green cards.” He added the price tag would ensure that only the most outstanding personnel would obtain them, with employers paying something akin to signing bonus in professional sports.
“It’s going to hopefully bring some great people to our country,” Trump remarked.
“This way a corporation – sort of like a signing bonus in baseball or football – a corporate will be able to get them to stay in the country.” Trump’s surcharges are part of his attempt to favor U.S. residents over foreign labor and comes amid a broader crackdown on immigration, which includes mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants and an end to allowing asylum seekers into the country while their cases are pending. The State Department announced in August it will impose a $15,000 bond for visa holders, under a new scheme. Trump creates new immigration fees $100,000 for tech visas
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said so-called green cards were awarded to 281,000 people per year who earned an average $66,000 and were typically likely to rely on public assistance. He stated the gold card price would ensure that only the finest workers remained permanently. “It was illogical,” Lutnick said. “We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top.” Lutnick said major tech businesses support spending $100,000 each year to fund the finest staff. “All of the big firms are on board,” Lutnick added.
The federal government allocates 85,000 H-1B visas a year, largely for computer professions, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the department has already received enough petitions for the year starting Oct. 1. Amazon had more than 10,000 of the visas allowed this year, while Microsoft and Meta each had more than 5,000 of the visas approved, according to the agency. Trump creates new immigration fees $100,000 for tech visas
The H-1B visa category is reserved for those who are employed in specialty occupations, typically in technology, such as software engineers, tech program managers and other IT experts. The visas are authorized for a term of three to six years. India was the greatest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, with 71% of authorized beneficiaries, according to government data. China was a distant second at 11.7%. Critics of the visas, including many American technology workers, believe firms employ H-1B visa workers to undercut salaries and pass over Americans for positions. Trump creates new immigration fees $100,000 for tech visas
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