United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 annual fee on applicants to the H-1B visa programme for skilled foreign workers.
The order, citing alleged abuses of the programme, makes entry conditional on payment.
While critics argue that H-1B visas undercut American workers, supporters like billionaire Elon Musk insist the programme is essential for attracting global talent to the U.S.
In a separate directive, President Trump introduced a new “gold card” visa scheme, designed to fast-track certain immigrants in exchange for fees starting at about $1.3 million.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained that the orders, taking effect tomorrow, will apply only to new requests.
However, companies will still be required to pay the full amount for each applicant for up to six years.
Written by Gladys Haruna