Trump imposes $100,000 fee on H-1B visas

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump signed on Friday a proclamation demanding companies pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas.

"We need workers. We need great workers. And this pretty much ensures that that's what's going to happen," Trump said in the Oval Office while signing the proclamation.

The overhaul is intended to curb what the administration describes as widespread abuse of the visa system -- particularly companies using it to replace US tech workers with lower-cost foreign labor.

"The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security," according to the proclamation released by the White House.

The move represents the administration’s latest push to tighten immigration controls and could have far-reaching effects on sectors that rely extensively on H-1B visa holders.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the new fee is designed to discourage companies from relying on foreign labor and will incentivize the hiring of American workers.

"Stop bringing in people to take our jobs, that’s our policy here," Lutnick said, standing next to Trump.