WASHINGTON (Chatnewstv.com) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation requiring highly skilled foreign workers to pay a $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visas and introduced a $1 million “gold card” visa as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy immigrants.
The moves, announced in the Oval Office alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, mark a dramatic escalation in Trump’s efforts to reshape the immigration system without Congress. Legal experts said the measures face near-certain court challenges.
H-1B visas, widely used by the technology industry, currently carry a $215 application fee. The new mandate would increase costs nearly 500-fold. Trump argued that major tech firms would not resist the change.
“I think they’re going to be very happy,” Trump said. Lutnick added that “all big companies” supported the plan.
The administration also detailed a “Trump Gold Card,” offering residency and eventual citizenship to individuals who pay $1 million annually. Investor visa fees in the U.S. currently range between $10,000 and $20,000 in many European countries.
Critics of the H-1B program have long argued it undercuts U.S. wages, with some companies hiring foreign workers for salaries as low as $60,000, well below the six-figure pay typically offered to American employees in tech.
Representatives for Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Microsoft declined to comment.
