Donald Trump has extended by another year an executive order that would impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B nonimmigrant visas. The White House said on Friday that the order had been extended. Trump, who has pursued an aggressive immigration crackdown, has criticized the program and wants to permanently raise the fee from between $2,000 and $5,000 to at least $100,000.
What did the original order cover? Trump's initial order for a fee hike, first released in September 2025, was set to expire this month, the Korea Times reported. It did not apply to visas granted to foreign citizens already in the United States on student visas, who make up a large share of new H-1B recipients. Renewals of current visas were also left out.
Where do the court challenges stand? The attempt to raise the fee has faced legal challenges. A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing a June decision by a federal judge who deemed the higher fee imposed by the Trump administration illegal and blocked the government from collecting it, the Korea Times reported. Another court is considering whether a judge properly rejected a challenge to the fee brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobbying group.
What do businesses say about the visas? U.S. employers seeking to hire skilled foreign workers can use the H-1B program for a fee, allowing tech and other professionals from abroad to work in the United States for a few years. Despite criticism that some companies use the visas to hire lower-paid foreign workers instead of Americans, business groups and companies say they help recruit highly skilled professionals and address a lack of qualified U.S. workers in some industries, the Korea Times reported. The visas, established by Congress in 1990, are especially critical for tech companies seeking to recruit from India and China. Changes to how potential visa holders are scrutinized and processed have affected companies' hiring and expansion plans, with some top H-1B users, such as Google parent company Alphabet, moving to increase operations in India.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
