Trump Expected to Add $100K Annual Fee to H-1B Visas

Updated 9/19/25 at 7:01pm ET: Trump announced the "Gold Card" on Friday, "a visa program overseen by the Secretary of Commerce that will facilitate the entry of aliens who have demonstrated their ability and desire to advance the interests of the United States by voluntarily providing a significant financial gift to the Nation."

President Donald Trump is expected to tack on a $100,000 annual fee to H-1B visa applications via executive order on Friday. BBC (Center bias) said applications are “capped at 85,000 per year,” while New York Post (Lean Right) said the program “admits hundreds of thousands.”

The Details: Trump argued that the program causes exploitation and harms the workforce of permanent US residents. The Department of Labor states, “The intent of the H-1B provisions is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States.”

For Context: Trump opposed the H-1B visa program during his 2024 presidential campaign; however, some media outlets framed the impending order as a shift in his stance, since he referred to the program as “great” in December. 

How The Media Covered It: News media on the right covered the story less than outlets elsewhere on the political spectrum. Politico (Lean Left) and BBC noted some conservative figures, such as Elon Musk, who have supported the program. BBC’s article also stated, “Trump told reporters at the White House in January that he understands ‘both sides of the argument’ on H-1Bs.” New York Post highlighted the Trump administration’s national security concerns of foreign domination in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. 

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