On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an order imposing a new annual $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications for highly skilled foreign workers. This program had been under scrutiny by the administration. The H-1B visa program is designed to attract the most qualified and talented individuals from abroad for high-skilled jobs that tech companies struggle to fill with qualified U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
However, the program has become a means for employers to hire foreign workers who are often willing to work for lower salaries, sometimes as low as $60,000 per year, far below the average salary of $100,000 or more for U.S. tech workers. President Trump emphasized on Friday that the tech industry would not oppose this move. He said, “I think they’re going to be very happy about this.”
‘Tax on Talent’: Indian-American Former Microsoft Executive Criticizes Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Plan
Indian-American Democrat Nik Petya, a former Microsoft employee and congressional candidate, criticized President Donald Trump’s order to impose a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications. Petya called it a “tax on talent.” Petya said, “Donald Trump is already weakening America’s economic strength by imposing tariffs on goods, and now he’s doing further damage by taxing talent.
There are talented, hardworking people all over the world, and America is fortunate that many of them want to come here. We have two options: let them in and make our economy more competitive, or keep them out so they can’t compete with us.”
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