US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 (£74,000) annual fee on applicants to the H-1B visa programme for skilled foreign workers.
The order cites “abuse” of the programme and restricts entry unless the payment is made.
Critics have long argued that H-1B visas undercut American workers, while supporters, including billionaire Elon Musk, say the system helps the US attract leading talent from overseas.
In a separate order, Trump also announced a “gold card” fast-track visa for certain immigrants, with fees beginning at £1million.
The changes are set to take effect on 21 September. While they apply only to new applications, companies will be required to pay the same fee for each applicant over six years, according to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“The company needs to decide… is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000-a-year payment to the government, or they should head home, and they should go hire an American,” he said, adding: “All of the big companies are on board.”
Since 2004, the annual number of H-1B applications has been capped at 85,000.
Until now, fees for the visas totalled around $1,500 in administrative charges.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported that applications for the next fiscal year dropped to about 359,000, marking a four-year low.
Amazon was the largest user of the programme last year, followed by Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google, according to government figures.
On Friday, Amazon told staff with H-1B visas already in the US to remain in the country.
An internal advisory seen by Business Insider said employees abroad should “try to return before tomorrow’s deadline if possible.”
It also warned that anyone unable to make it back before the order takes effect should avoid attempting re-entry “until further guidance is provided.”
