Donald Trump just transformed America’s high-skill immigration system.

In a proclamation Friday, the president imposed a $100,000 fee on all new applications for H-1B visas (although the administration would retain the right to offer companies exemptions at will).

Such visas have long been controversial. The H-1B program is meant to help American employers hire foreign workers with rare intellectual abilities. It aims to ensure that the US “knowledge economy” is not undermined by shortfalls of highly skilled labor.

Yet some companies have used the program to essentially replace US workers with immigrants — less because the latter boast exceptional skills than because they have lower wage expectations.

Trump’s $100,000 fee is ostensibly meant to fix this problem. In theory, employers wo

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