Washington: The White House has strongly defended the Trump administration’s controversial decision to impose a $100,000 supplemental fee on new H-1B visa applications, describing it as a necessary measure to curb misuse of the U.S. skilled-worker visa system and prioritize American workers.
In an exclusive response to IANS, White House Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said President Donald Trump has “done more than any president in modern history to tighten our immigration laws and put American workers first.”
Calling the steep new fee a “significant first step to stop abuses of the system,” Rogers said the objective is to prevent U.S. companies from replacing domestic workers with lower-paid foreign labor. “The $100,000 payment required to supplement new H1-B visa applications is a significant first step to ensure that American workers are no longer replaced by lower-paid foreign labor,” she said.
The White House also highlighted Project Firewall, a newly launched Department of Labor initiative that will investigate companies suspected of violating H-1B rules. Rogers said the administration is restoring “accountability” to the H-1B process by ensuring that visas are used strictly for highly skilled roles that cannot be filled by U.S. workers.
Debate Intensifies After Trump Says U.S. ‘Needs Talent’
The administration’s defense comes after President Trump, in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, insisted that the U.S. still requires foreign talent. When Ingraham suggested that Americans could fill those jobs, Trump responded, “No you don’t,” adding that certain specialized skills cannot be sourced from an unemployment line.
Trump’s remarks have sparked widespread debate within conservative circles. Some Republican leaders have demanded the elimination of the H-1B program altogether.
On Friday, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene reiterated her intent to introduce legislation to ban H-1B visas across all sectors except health care, arguing that removing foreign workers would free up jobs and housing for Americans.
Experts Warn Ban Would Harm Americans, Especially in Health Care
Immigration experts, however, say such proposals would severely hurt the country. Sarah Pierce, Director of Social Policy at the Washington-based think tank Third Way, called Greene’s plan “one of the most efficient ways to hurt Americans.”
She warned that cutting off foreign skilled workers — especially doctors, nurses and other medical personnel — would create an immediate crisis. “Slashing the flow of foreign workers, including the medical professionals her own communities rely on, would gut access to care overnight,” Pierce told IANS.
A Policy Dividing Conservatives and Business Interests
The H-1B program, long a point of contention in U.S. immigration policy, is used heavily by the technology, engineering, medical and research sectors. The Trump administration’s new fee structure is expected to drastically reduce applications unless businesses are willing to absorb the massive cost.
While some conservatives argue the visa program depresses wages and displaces Americans, business leaders warn that crippling H-1B access could undermine innovation and competitiveness in key sectors.
As the debate intensifies, the $100,000 fee — unprecedented in U.S. visa policy — is emerging as a flashpoint in the wider national conversation about immigration, labor and the future of the American workforce.