opinion

U.S. H-1B Visa application forms.

Jonah Prousky is a freelance writer and PhD student at MIT

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive action to attach a US$100,000 annual fee to H-1B visas. These three-year work visas are beloved by the tech industry. They were relatively cheap – previously, the cost of H-1Bs started at US$1,700 and ran up to US$4,500 for expedited processing – and they allowed U.S. companies to hand-pick top talent from around the world.

Getting an H-1B visa isn’t easy. The United States issues 65,000 H-1Bs each year (plus an additional 20,000 for individuals with a master’s or PhD from an American university). And, since demand for these visas exceeds supply, they are allotted using a lottery system.

The new fee will almost certainly face

See Full Page