H-1B Fee Weakened?

When President Trump announced a bold new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions, it sent shockwaves through corporate boardrooms and Big Tech lobbyists. Finally, America would make it costly to import cheap foreign labor while millions of Americans struggle to find work.

But the fine print tells a different story.

According to new guidance from the administration, the $100,000 fee will not apply to:

• Students switching from F-1 to H-1B status inside the United States,
  
• Current H-1B holders extending their status, and
  
• Any visa “status changes” happening domestically.

In other words, this so-called “one-time fee” only affects new petitions for workers outside the country—a small fraction of total H-1B filings.

Meanwhile, nearly 60% of new college graduates can’t find a job after graduation. Yet our federal government continues to carve out exceptions for multinational corporations that want to replace American talent with cheaper, foreign labor.

Texans for Strong Borders applauded President Trump’s initial move to rein in the H-1B program—but we will not sit quietly as bureaucrats and lobbyists water it down. Every loophole weakens the policy, every exemption undermines its purpose.

If we are serious about putting American workers first, we must stop treating visa programs as a pipeline for corporate profit and start enforcing policies that protect our citizens’ livelihoods. Moreover, we have a responsibility as a nation to ensure that our most talented young people have the same opportunities that our forefathers fought so hard to provide.

American workers deserve better. We have consistently called for an end to the OPT program and the H-1B visa program that displaces our highest-skilled workers.

Until every American worker has a fair shot at a good-paying job, Texans for Strong Borders will keep exposing these carve-outs and fighting to hold Washington accountable.