Trump’s $100K H-1B visa fee stuns Microsoft, tech industry
Some of the world’s largest tech companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, had a busy weekend scrambling to provide proper guidance for employees following US President Trump’s announced $100,000 H-1B visa fee.
The executive order, signed by President Trump on Friday, September 19, went into effect on Sunday, September 21.
Microsoft was quick to release a memo to affected employees on Saturday explaining the situation. According to an internal memo (via Business Insider), Microsoft advised H-1B employees currently in the US to remain in place.
The advisory for H-1B employees caught outside the US at the time of the proclamation is much more frenzied:
If you are in H-1B or H-4 status and are currently outside the U.S., we strongly recommend that you do what you can to return to the U.S. tomorrow before the deadline. The Proclamation was released within the last 30 minutes, so we realize that there isn’t much time to make sudden travel arrangements. But again, we strongly encourage you to do your best to return. If you are not able to return, please use this form to let us know about your situation. Please only complete that form if you are outside of the U.S. We want to be able to follow up with each individual and provide support and guidance as they try to return within the next 28 hours.
Microsoft
Although H-4 dependents weren’t included in President Trump’s proclamation, Microsoft also recommended that those employees remain in the US.
For those with other visa statuses, including L-1 and TN, Microsoft states that the proclamation will not have any impact.
Microsoft adds that it knows “these developments are creating anxiety and uncertainty for many of you,” and it asks “that you prioritize the recommendations above” despite the company not having “all of the answers right now.”
Similar memos were released by Amazon and Google, emphasizing the importance of these H-1B visas in the tech industry that relies so heavily on skilled foreign workers.
Confusion surrounding Trump’s H-1B visa executive order
Friday’s press conference, in which President Trump and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick laid out the new plans for H-1B visas, caused a lot of confusion.
At first, it seemed like the executive order would install a yearly $100,000 fee for H-1B visa employees. It also seemed like those with H1-B visas outside the US at the time the proclamation went into effect would be affected.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt provided an update on X on Saturday afternoon — well after associated memos from big tech companies went out and employees scrambled to find flights back to the US — stating that “this is NOT an annual fee” and that “those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter.”
To be clear:1.) This is NOT an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies only to the petition.2.) Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter. H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the…September 20, 2025
Of course, Leavitt’s update comes with a Community Note pointing out that “Lutnick repeatedly said in an Oval Office briefing that this was an annual fee.”
Breaking down the White House’s new H-1B visa restrictions
The H-1B visa program was created in 1990 and was designed as a way to grant temporary worker status in the US. It does not grant residency.
Since its inception, companies have used H-1B visas to fill roles with foreign workers that cannot otherwise be filled by US workers.
There are 65,000 H-1B visas available each year for workers with at least a bachelor’s degree, as well as 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees. The visas can be approved for three to six years.
According to a White House press release explaining the proclamation:
The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security. Some employers, using practices now widely adopted by entire sectors, have abused the H-1B statute and its regulations to artificially suppress wages, resulting in a disadvantageous labor market for American citizens, while at the same time making it more difficult to attract and retain the highest skilled subset of temporary workers, with the largest impact seen in critical science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
Up until President Trump’s weekend executive order, H-1B visa costs included a $215 filing fee and a $780 sponsor fee, paid when the employer submitted a petition to the government to receive a visa.
Microsoft indirectly called out in the White House’s official proclamation
Amazon might have received the most H-1B visa applications in 2025, but Microsoft is in second place. The official White House proclamation didn’t name names, but it didn’t exactly obfuscate either:
One software company was approved for over 5,000 H-1B workers in FY 2025; around the same time, it announced a series of layoffs totaling more than 15,000 employees. Another IT firm was approved for nearly 1,700 H-1B workers in FY 2025; it announced it was laying off 2,400 American workers in Oregon in July. A third company has reduced its workforce by approximately 27,000 American workers since 2022, while being approved for over 25,000 H-1B workers since FY 2022. A fourth company reportedly eliminated 1,000 jobs in February; it was approved for over 1,100 H-1B workers for FY 2025.
That “one software company” approved for 5,000 H-1B visas does indeed seem to refer to Microsoft, which in 2025 experienced five months of layoffs totalling more than 15,000 employees, including 6,000 jobs in May and 9,000 in July.
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