President Trump sent ShockWves through the technological industry on weekends, announcing a payment of $ 100,000 for new H-1B visas, presented in the form of visas submitted after September 21, 2025. Since 1990, hundreds of thousands of foreigners have come to work in American technological companies through the VISA system. But in ProclamationTrump wrote that the system was “deliberately operated for replacement, and not for the additions of American workers to low -paid and low -skilled works.”
Many experts agree that the H-1B system is erroneous and needs amendments. But time spoke with three professors in the field of economics or business, who believe that the new system of Trump’s commissions can be counterproductive: this may push talent abroad; To determine universities and non -profit organizations cannot gain foreign experts; And to harm American technological innovations, including in the rapidly developing area of artificial intelligence.
The idea that the H-1B visa program has a clean work with working American workers is “empirically opposite the truth,” says he says Giovanni PerProfessor of Economics at the University of California, Davis. “STEM foreign workers were an incredible growth engine,” he says, noting that multiple Research It was found that their presence has a tendency to increase the creation of jobs and wealth for America.
The new H-1B fee will “damage the innovation and competitiveness of the US Industry,” says Subodha Kumar, professor of Fox Business School at Temple University. “Most of the innovations and work and developments performed in the United States include people in H-1B visas.”
Read more: H-1B visas were transformed. This is what you need to know about changes
H-1BS and technology industry
H-1B visas are designed to allow experts in specialized fields to work in the United States on non-immigrant basis. On H-1B visas, more than half a million USA residents of H-1B, US government Assessed in 2020. And many of these residents work for technological companies as engineers and IT specialists. The report of the Ministry of Internal Security showed that 64% of the approved petitions of the H-1B in 2024 were related to the computer.
Technological leaders who have arrived in the USA using H-1B visas include Satya Nadella's Microsoft, Google Sundar Pichai and Zoom's Eric YuanThe field of one study of 2021 showed that the number of H-1B visa holders in the state was Strong correlated With the number of patents issued, especially in the field of computer sciences and optoelectronics. Another report He found that the main beneficiaries of the program are Amazon (in which almost 15,000 workers using H-1B visas in 2024), IBM, Microsoft, Google and Meta were working.
In December, Elon Musk wrote on X that “the reason I am in America, along with many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong, because of H-1B.”
The “broken” system
But Musk, the same week, was also called the H-1B system “broken” and played for a major reform. The system was faced with intensive control from all over the political spectrum, as well as from those inside it.
Demand for H-1B visas is much exceeds the available offer. To solve this problem, a lottery system was created for candidates, which, according to critics, is clearly ineffective. Many employees should wait years For a green card, when they work in the program, they have a limited ability to change companies or find their own startups.
Meanwhile, leaders on the left, like Bernie SandersThey expressed fears that the system is operated. The study of 2020 The Institute of Economic Policy (EPI) found that most H-1B employers pay less migrant workers than the salary of a market rate. And on the right, leaders like Steve Bannon fear that the system takes work from Americans.
During its first term, Trump imposed restrictions According to the program, with applications deviation indicators swimHe also tried to ban the H-1B visas, but in the federal court he was not able to.
Trump is currently trying another tactic: a payment of $ 100,000 for new applicants. The announcement caused panic In Silicon Valley, when technological companies advise their H-1B employees not to leave the country so that they are not allowed to be back. However, the White House officials said on Saturday that the changes will be applied only to new statements, and not about extension.
The solution will meet legal problems. It is unclear whether Trump has the authority to amend in this way, and he can or cannot withstand in court.
But even those who advocate for the reform of the program are skeptical of the fact that Trump’s board of $ 100,000 will correct the situation. “I don't think this is a decision on the failures that we saw in the labor market,” says Madeline ZavodnyProfessor of Economics at the University of North Florida.
She says that the best approach would be to create an auction system at the federal level, allowing employers to offer the right to hire foreign workers through the H-1B program, excluding non-profit organizations, universities and the like from this process.
Peri adds that an increase in a cover of 85,000 people will allow a more effective system. He argues that the reason why technological companies turn to foreign work is that the offer of highly qualified workers is simply not enough to meet demand. “It's already easier to hire an American than a foreign worker,” he says. Some researchers, however, dispute The idea that there is a lack of highly qualified workers in STEM roles is more wide.
Influence on the labor and technological sector
Several technical leaders reacted positively to a new fee. Openai's sam altman He said to CNBC: “We need to get the most intelligent people in the country, as well as optimize this process, as well as to state financial incentives to me good.” Reed Hastings, Chairman of Netflix, called the tax “excellent solution”. “This will mean that H-1B is used only for very high jobs, which will mean any lottery,” he says.
Coreweave Director General Michael Intator, on the contrary, described New fee as “sand in the transfer” for his company.
The impact of the board can be most acutely felt by the Indian IT ecosystem. About 70 percent of H-1B owners are India citizens. Critics are now worried that the fee can price Indian engineers join American companies. Dilip Krishna, Indian entrepreneur, wrote LinkedIn changes can lead to the return of Indian technical workers. “Here is the next generation of Indian talents with a global exposition and returning to India and construction for world markets,” he wrote.
Many other Indian workers can go to other countries abroad with prosperous industries, like Great Britain, according to Zavodan, research It shows that when large companies cannot hire employees on the H-1B, they ultimately ended up in a series of work. “It goes to Canada, Great Britain or India,” she says. Meanwhile, small companies may simply not be able to hire the talent necessary for them.
Peri adds that academic and non -profit spaces can also be amazed especially heavy. While the number of visas for employees of the private sector is limited to 85,000 per year – a limit that has not changed since 2005 – certain employers, including certain universities, non -profit organizations and government institutions, are released. In 2024, more than 141,000 new visas were approved.
According to Peri, for many employees of H-1BS employees in these types of organizations, which also make a significant contribution to the technological leader of America, conducting advanced research, says Peri, a new fee of $ 100,000 will be exorbitantly high. Harvard, for example, usually Sponsors of 125 H-1B new petitions every year, which is more than 10 million US dollars in the form of annual fees.
Kumar in Temple says this step can help in the internal technology market in the long run, but it is necessary to build most of the infrastructure so that this happens. “In the long run, it will strive to create internal labor to satisfy some of these needs,” he says. “But this is a very difficult task. Right now, it will simply create more confusion, and technological companies should really work hard to reduce their losses. ”
For the peri, there is an irreconcilable tension between the double goals of the administration: the protection of American jobs and maintaining the US position as a world leader in STEM. “I think that the administration has two types of people,” he says. “Those who are very clear about the negative consequences – the types of Elon Mask, business people – and about people who want to reduce immigration for ideological reasons,” such as Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff of the White House for politics. “Let's see who prevails in the long run,” he says.
