FT: U.S. Companies Face Annual $20 Trillion Cost from H-1B 'Fee Bomb'

141,000 Issued Last Year
Heavy Burden on Tech Companies

An analysis has found that the annual cost burden on U.S. companies due to the Trump administration's increase in H-1B visa fees will reach approximately 20 trillion won.

Reuters Yonhap News

The Financial Times in the United Kingdom reported on the 21st (local time), citing statistics from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under the Department of Homeland Security, that a total of 141,000 new H-1B visas were issued in the United States last year. If the number of H-1B issuances remains at last year’s level, FT estimates that U.S. employers will collectively bear a total of 14 billion dollars (about 20 trillion won) annually, with each case costing 100,000 dollars.

This outlook is placing a particularly heavy burden on Silicon Valley tech companies. H-1B visas are primarily used by these companies to hire engineers, scientists, and programmers from overseas. In fact, according to USCIS statistics, two-thirds of those who received H-1B visas in 2023 were employed in the IT industry.

Previously, on the 19th, President Trump signed a proclamation raising the H-1B visa fee from the existing 1,000 dollars to 100,000 dollars, a hundredfold increase. Following the announcement of the new regulation, tech companies such as Microsoft strongly urged their existing H-1B employees residing abroad to return to the United States. In response, the White House clarified the following day that the fee increase would only apply to new visa applicants.

Some major corporations are reportedly considering legal action against the fee increase. A lawyer from the large law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Cramer stated, "The administration has the authority to impose fees to recover costs related to H-1B visas," but added, "100,000 dollars is a measure that goes far beyond their regulatory authority, and it is highly likely that the courts will intervene."

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