Trump’s proposed changes to the H-1B visa program, explained Economy Sep 30, 2025 4:05 PM EDT

When President Donald Trump proposed that American companies pay a $100,000 fee for each foreign employee they seek to hire, confusion and worry spread through the tech industry, which relies heavily on skilled worker visas.

Those visas, part of the H-1B program , allow U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign employees in “specialty occupations,” according to the Department of Labor.

Business leaders — and Trump himself at one point — have supported the visas as a way to bring talent to the U.S. At the same time, there have been calls for reform from people who say the program allows companies to hire foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay Americans.

About 15% of H-1B

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