White House Defends $100k H-1B Fee as Pro-American Worker Policy

The Trump administration is staunchly defending its new policy to impose a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas, portraying it as a crucial step to protect American jobs. The proclamation, signed Friday, has been met with fierce resistance from the technology sector, but officials insist it will force companies to prioritize the domestic workforce.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking at a White House briefing, was the primary voice articulating the administration’s stance. “If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land,” he stated. Lutnick framed the exorbitant fee as a filter to ensure that only the most indispensable foreign talent is brought into the U.S., compelling companies to hire Americans for all other roles.
This pro-worker argument directly confronts the tech industry’s long-standing reliance on the H-1B program. Companies like Amazon and Microsoft, which secure thousands of these visas annually, argue they are filling a skills gap, not displacing workers. The new fee fundamentally challenges that narrative by making foreign labor an extremely costly last resort.
Critics of the policy, however, warn of severe unintended consequences. Venture capitalists and tech executives argue that instead of boosting American jobs, the fee will simply drive innovation and investment to other countries. They fear a “brain drain” where the world’s brightest minds, and the companies that depend on them, bypass the U.S. altogether, ultimately harming the economy.
The policy’s future is also clouded by legal uncertainty. Immigration experts have widely questioned the president’s authority to enact such a fee without congressional approval, suggesting it exceeds the executive branch’s mandate. This sets the stage for a likely court battle that will determine whether this pro-American worker policy can legally be enforced.