In a sweeping move set to shake the US tech industry, President Donald Trump on September 19 signed a proclamation raising the annual H-1B visa fee to a staggering $100,000. The decision, framed as a measure to protect American workers, represents the latest push by the administration to overhaul the country’s immigration system.

White House staff secretary Will Scharf described the H-1B programme as “one of the most abused visa systems” in the United States, intended to bring in highly skilled professionals in roles Americans are unlikely to fill. The new fee, he said, ensures that only top-tier talent enters the country, while preventing foreign workers from displacing domestic employees.

“We need workers. We need great workers, and this ensures that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” Trump said, signing the proclamation in the Oval Office alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Lutnick highlighted the historical shortcomings of the U.S. employment-based Green Card system, which previously admitted 281,000 workers annually earning an average of $66,000—a figure he described as “below the average American.”

Under the new policy, only “extraordinary people at the very top” will qualify, with the program expected to generate more than $100 billion for the US Treasury. Trump pledged the revenue would be used to cut taxes and pay down national debt.

The move is poised to hit Indian tech workers particularly hard. H-1B visas, which are typically valid for three years and renewable for another three, could become prohibitively expensive for companies to maintain for their foreign employees. For many Indians caught in the decades-long Green Card backlog, this may affect their ability to stay in the US unless their employers absorb the new $100,000 annual cost.

“The entire idea is to stop big companies from training foreign workers at taxpayer expense,” Lutnick said. “They must either invest in Americans or pay the government $100,000 per employee. It’s that simple.”

Trump also unveiled the “Gold Card” program, providing a fast-track visa pathway for individuals of extraordinary ability. Those who contribute $1 million personally—or $2 million through corporate sponsorship—would gain expedited visa processing and a path to permanent residency.

“We’re taking in hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said. “Companies will keep the talent they need, and the U.S. will benefit from both the expertise and the revenue.”

Renewals and new H-1B applications will now be subject to the fee, forcing companies to assess whether foreign employees are “valuable enough” to justify the cost, according to Lutnick. “Valuable people only for America. Stop the nonsense,” he said.

Trump insisted tech companies would welcome the change. “Everyone’s going to be happy. We’ll retain highly productive people, and companies are going to pay a lot of money for that —and they’re very happy about it,” he said.