Communication is not exactly Trump’s strong point. And I have some math lessons for Trump.
H-1B Visa Fee Mass Confusion
On Friday, the White House announced a Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers.
Reuters commented Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas, in blow to tech
The Trump administration said on Friday it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas, prompting some big tech companies to warn visa holders to stay in the U.S. or quickly return.
The change could deal a big blow to the technology sector that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China.
“If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land,” said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs.”
Trump’s threat to crack down on H-1B visas has become a major flashpoint with the tech industry, which contributed millions of dollars to his presidential campaign.
Microsoft, JPMorgan and Amazon responded to the announcement by advising employees holding H-1B visas to remain in the United States
“H-1B visa holders who are currently in the U.S. should remain in the U.S. and avoid international travel until the government issues clear travel guidance,” read an email sent to JPMorgan employees by Ogletree Deakins, a company that handles visa applications for the U.S. investment bank.
Mad Scramble
Please note Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee Sets Off Scramble Across Corporate America
The announcement on Friday that the Trump administration planned to add a new $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday caught companies and employees off guard, spurring a furious scramble.
Amazon, Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and others warned H-1B holders not to leave the country and urged employees overseas on the visa to get back to the U.S. on Saturday because it could be difficult to re-enter, according to notes sent to staff reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with their contents. Companies worried they could be on the hook for enormous fee payments given how many of their employees use such visas.
Human-resources staffers divided up lists of workers and tried to determine employees’ locations so they could help them book flights, if needed. Immigration lawyers, meanwhile, sent bulletins to companies and visa holders and tried to address concerns—but often found themselves with few answers.
Attempting to calm the escalating panic, the White House on Saturday said the changes don’t apply to current visa holders, and that the new policy doesn’t affect their ability to travel to and from the U.S. The $100,000 is a one-time fee, not an annual fee, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The clarification capped an extraordinary 24-hour period.
The proclamation “came with no notice or even a hint that something like this was coming,” said Shanon R. Stevenson, co-chair of the immigration practice group at law firm Fisher Phillips, who spent much of Saturday fielding calls and emails from clients in fields ranging from healthcare to manufacturing. “It’s been obviously very devastating.”
Many employers were still digesting the announcement when the White House issued its clarification. By then, companies had already set new plans in motion and many workers had upended travel plans.
Posts across social media attested to travel chaos, with people describing being pulled from meetings and immediately sent to the airport. Some travelers were trying to connect through Abu Dhabi, where they can pass through U.S. immigration before arriving in America. Others said they were canceling trips out of the U.S.
“They’re truly in scramble mode,” said Nolan Church, the former head of talent at DoorDash and chief people officer at Carta, who said text threads flashed all night from executives at other companies.
When the president announced the move in the Oval Office, he and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said companies would support the change. “All of the big companies are on board,” Lutnick said.
When asked if the policy would apply to existing holders, Lutnick appeared to say yes. “Renewals, first time: the company needs to decide…Is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000 a year payment to the government? Or they should head home and go hire an American?” he said.
$1 Million Gold Card
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Adds $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee and Rolls Out $1 Million ‘Gold Card’
President Trump announced a move to dramatically reshape the nation’s immigration system, attaching hefty new fees to H-1B visas and rolling out a “gold card” for those willing to pay $1 million to secure U.S. residency.
A new $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications is intended to crack down on a system the Trump administration says has been used by tech companies to avoid hiring American workers.
An executive order signed by Trump on Friday rolls out a gold card available to people who pay $1 million to the U.S. Treasury. Corporations can sponsor an individual for $2 million. The visas are expedited, and the Department of Homeland Security will still vet the individuals, which will cost applicants $15,000. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that this visa will replace other similar employment-based paths to permanent residency programs within a month.
The new gold card would use existing green card categories known as EB-1 and EB-2, which people can qualify for if the government determines they have “extraordinary ability” in their fields. Lutnick said 80,000 of these visas would be available, down from 140,000 employment-based visas that are annually awarded now. He said other employment-based visa categories would be suspended in order for the new system to work.
“We’ll be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said. “We’re going to take that money and we’re going to reduce taxes, we’re going to reduce debt.”
The goal of implementing the higher fees, Lutnick said, was to make sure corporations “hire Americans and make sure the people that come into the country are top, top people.”
H-1B fees are typically paid for by employers sponsoring visa applicants. It currently costs $215 to enter an applicant into the lottery, and more than $5,000 in fees to file a visa application—without factoring in lawyers’ fees.
The administration is also exploring a “platinum card” program, for a $5 million fee, which would allow an individual to live in the country for up to 270 days a year without being subject to tax on non-U. S. income. Congress would need to approve the program.
“Tech companies are on board, we’ve spoken to them,” Lutnick said of Friday’s moves.
There are roughly 700,000 people on H-1B visas currently living in the U.S., according to a National Foundation of American Policy analysis of government data. Many of those have been living in the country for more than a decade, waiting in a yearslong backlog for a green card.
Three Lies of the Day
- “We’ll be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said.
- “Tech companies are on board, we’ve spoken to them,” Lutnick said
- “We’re going to take that money and we’re going to reduce taxes, we’re going to reduce debt,” said Trump.
Math Lesson #1 for Trump
The $100,000 card is one-time. Lutnick said there would be 80,000 of these new visas, and they do not apply to existing visa holders.
80,000 * $100,000 = $8 billion, not hundreds of billions.
Math Lesson #2 for Trump
You cannot pay down debt while running massive deficits.
Lutnick’s Transparent Lie
Corporations are not on board with this announcement. And Lutnick did not even know what the plan was.
It’s likely Trump did not even understand his own plan based on the confusion and clarifications after the damage was already done.
Related Posts
March 21, 2025: US Debt Will Grow to a Staggering 156 Percent of GDP by 2055
If Congress extends the TCJA tax cuts with no offsetting savings, the deficits will surge.
There was no offsetting savings. What passed was even worse.
May 22, 2025: The One Big, Irresponsible, Deficit-Increasing Bill Passes the House
Did anyone really think Republicans would be fiscally responsible?
June 21, 2025: Record Deficits as Far as the Eye Can See and Trump Begs for More
Let’s investigate CBO deficit projections vs what actually happened
August 2, 2025: Senate OKs a More than Requested $852 Billion in Defense Spending
Senate Republicans and Democrats vote to slosh around still more on defense spending.
August 14, 2025: US Debt Now Grows by $1 Trillion Every 150 Days
US national debt just topped $37 trillion and is growing fast.
Trumpian Magic
Trump magically turns $8 billion into “hundreds of billions” and use that to “reduce taxes, and reduce debt.”
Other than cultists, does anyone believe this horsehockey?
Gold Surges Above $3,600 to New Record High Despite a Rising Dollar
On September 2, 2025, I noted Gold Surges Above $3,600 to New Record High Despite a Rising Dollar
A Word About Faith
Gold does not believe the Fed is under control, Congress is under control, budget deficits are under control, and Trump is under control.
And neither do I.
Whoa, talk about a visa rollercoaster! This new $100,000 H-1B fee and the $1 million “Gold Card” for U.S. residency has everyone scrambling like it’s Black Friday—but for travel docs. Tech companies, visa holders, and HR teams all suddenly found themselves in full-on panic mode, trying to figure out flights, renewals, and compliance. The good news? It’s not as dire as it first seemed—existing visa holders aren’t impacted, and the fee is one-time, not annual.
If this all sounds like a maze, that’s because it is. But don’t sweat it! With GovAssist (https://govassist.com/) as your expert guide, navigating the visa maze is a breeze. From clarifying eligibility to ensuring your paperwork is flawless, GovAssist helps you move through this whirlwind with confidence—no last-minute airport dashes required. Whether you’re aiming for an H-1B or dreaming of that Gold Card, having the right guide makes all the difference.
Yet another draconian regulation on business and trade. More uncertainty based on fabricated numbers and outright lies.
It resembles WWF’s suspended reality.
>>>
FAFO
That expression is going to be echoing around in more & more people’s heads as the Trump regime rolls on, destroying everything in its path.
Now, Tech Oligarchs are added to the FAFO list.
What’s next, confiscate the passports of those citizens who refuse to condone the US backed genocide of Palestinians, like Rep. Mast’s (R-FL) proposed?
NVDA jumps today because they will invest $100 billion in OpenAI. OpenAI will buy $30 Billion in DataCenter services from Oracle. Then Oracle will $30 billion in chips from NVDA.
Oracle marketcap goes up $240 billion on this $30 Billion of Revenue. Now NVDA marketcap goes up $150 billion.
Am I am the only one seeing this as potentially an odd business cycle? For this to all work it seems as if OpenAI needs to eventually see 30 billion in income ?
Also, I noticed cash rich Meta is selling bonds to finance data centers. Oracle is working on a $38 billion credit line with Banks.
That debt does need to be paid back.
A nice circle jerk of vendor financing.
What could go wrong?
>>>.
LOL!
Oracle, OpenAI Sign $300 Billion Cloud Deal
The majority of new revenue revealed by Oracle will come from OpenAI deal, sources say. Which really means OpenAI money is coming from NVDA.
OpenAI signed a contract with Oracle to purchase $300 billion in computing power over roughly five years, people familiar with the matter said, a massive commitment that far outstrips the startup’s current revenue.
This is likely to be rolled out over time. Say at 2GW per year starting in 3 years time and ending 8 years from now. As it will take 3 years to get going.
Expect further announcements in addition to this 10GW plan. That’s a lot of new power demand. And it will all have to come from renewables and a bit of gas. Maybe someone will get Trump to change his mind about renewables.
I can see it now. Six months from now, Trump will declare a bold new initiative to make the US number 1 in renewable energy.
Hahahaha!
I haven’t seen a single unreasonable comment by Mike Shedlock concerning President Trump. I voted for Trump, FYI. Since it became clear by now that the Democrats and Republicans are the same when it comes to the main issues of fiscal irresponsibility, money printing, the MIC, racist genocidal Israel, Deep State terror and corruption, and the violation of the US Constitution, I will NEVER vote D or R again.
But I WILL VOTE for another party, ANY other party, for the sole purposes of kicking the traitorous Ds and the traitorous Rs out of power. I suggest you all do the same. Vote for ANY other party, vote to keep our republic a going concern.
Otherwise civil war will rear its ugly head in a nuclear-armed superpower that threatens the survival of the entire planet.
Voting is easier than dying a horrible death watching your children suffer the same fate.
You’re goddamned right. I am a lifelong blue voter, but the Dems can stick it up their you know what with a corkscrew for all I care. As lifelong political adversaries, I welcome your comments and embrace them, for it is the only path forward.
All of us are victims of the POLITICAL CLASS. They are our enemies. Joe Q Republican and Mary J Democrat are the same person for all I care at this point. Look at what has happened to our nation.
Bad health care
Bad education
Bad infrastructure
Bad race relations
Bad social relations
Bad politics
Bad diplomacy
Bad government
Bad governance
Bad judges
Pro sports is about money and politics, NOT sport
I’ll check in from my retirement location when I get there, it won’t be inside the USA.
I am beginning think Trump is as demented as his predecessor.
And you are so very right, my friend.
tell us when you get to “full tard”
you need to provide balance. For one, Reuters is a clear left source. No balance. what value does your ‘publication’ provide if all you are is an aggregator?? I hope will go beyond parroting liberal sources and provide real news and context
OK – What about the article do you disagree with?
Put up or shut up.
All you offer is an asinine ad hominem attack on Reuters.
Since you want “Real News” (translation bullshit you agree with), Tune into the conspiracy sites like Truth Social.
Larry,
Please come on, man. If Mish mentions Trump in an article, it’s not going to be balanced. He only comes close to balanced, when speaking about topics that aren’t directly related or necessary to mention Trump.
In his mind, there’s no way that Reuters or the WSJ could ever parrot liberal points of view. These are news sources beyond reproach, at least to Mish.
Now, back to TruthSocial for the real news ; )
How’s the weather in Tel Aviv, shlomo?
MAGA and conservatives seem to think “balanced” means you have to sugarcoat or provide some good thing anytime they report on something. it doesn’t.
it’s like if someone was reporting about how water is wet, to expect them to show that, also, water is dry.
They don’t like to be reminded they are snowflakes
BenW why are you here on Mish’s jock if you find this place so valueless? Do you have any self-respect?
How’s the weather in Tel Aviv, shlomo?
Larry who gave you the authority to make demands of Mish? Your ego?
5 out 4 inThis administration have a math problem …..
A yogi ism lol
I love it
given that business can plead their case for exemptions from the $100K H1b to the Trump admin, it’s just another case of making corruption and bribery to the Trump cause the standard form of business in the US
“Banana republic”
It speaks volumes when The Lie of the Day won’t suffice…
and you have to add a couple more…
to make it thrice.
Sad. Not nice.
H1-B holders lose their visa if they get fired and can’t find another one to sponsor them within 3 (or 6) months. This makes them very obedient to the employer, out of fear. This creates an unhealthy culture.There’s the issue of some of them becoming “spies” for foreign governments, and the examples are many. The case of “Chinese nationals charged with smuggling dangerous fungus pathogen in the US” was right-down scary.One other issue is the change of culture in companies and areas with a large number of employees from A or B particular foreign country.I don’t see much fundamental innovation lately by H1-B holders, I see mostly “Franken-projects”.The H1-B should be abolished at this point. And the large universities, instead of bringing unchecked students here, could open departments abroad and have them there.
Can you imagine how much USA intellectual property has been stolen by Chinese H1-B visa holders since 1990?
This one program literally allowed China to close the technological gap in 20 years.
The roles are now reversed. They passed us long ago in many areas. Now we need to get them to build things here so we can learn from them.
For example, maybe they can build us a nationwide electric train system, that runs on time and at speeds over 200 mph.
The auto industry would raise holy hell about that.
We like our cars too much.
The good news for China is their IP is safe. They don’t let Americans work in critical areas of research. That’s one of the benefits of not having a UniParty. Well, actually they do, but it’s Communist which is better than ours.
sad, but true.
Undoubtedly some leakage.. but whenever there is some breakthrough at a US research institute, do you look at the names. Not very many Anglo/Euro ones. US has also benefited by attracting the worlds smartest people — in the past.
100% correct. the h1b system was designed to address the lack of technical talent, but is outdated and has magnified the problems in the tech part of the labor market. so many bad incentives, but tech companies love it….. for obvious reasons.
H1-B imports for subpar wages are another example of corporate welfare. Get rid of it ASAP.
I have always taken a dim view of these kinds of worker visas. The big tech companies (Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, etc) are extremely selective in their hiring.
They create their own ‘worker shortage’ because they only want purple squirrels and there are only so many of those with US citizenship.
Still, I’m skeptical of Trump’s motivation and how this will actually play out. Buried in the fine print are “exceptions” that can be made by the Trump administration.
The fees will be waived for companies that express the appropriate ‘patriotic fervor’ as they hire foreigners.
Bribery…
H1-B’s have been the biggest skilled labor scam for at least 25 years now.
Just get rid of them. Problem solved.
LOL you forgot Trump’s ego needs him to gold-coat some fake solution on this program so he can boost his Ego score another ten thousand points
So Mr. Lutnik, the solution to this very real problem was to… tell employers from the last sector we dominate to take the jobs and move them to those people instead of bringing them here? The jobs that only require a computer to do so you can just move them in about a week or so. Those jobs?
This coming on the heels of the grain harvest simply not selling this year is some 4D, no, 8D chess that us mortal men simply cannot comprehend! Next we should nationalize all businesses so that we can give their jobs back to the white man and begin a 1000 year golden age.
racist LGBTQ spotted
Pretty simple solution for many of these individuals. US companies open foreign offices where the talent is.
Also when they go home they can sell their homes here and pay taxes in the foreign country.
Remote work? Yes indeed!
Trump is an idiot!
Are you a foreign agent?
Palantir sending and receiving sensitive US government data to and from China?
Microsoft Google sharing business secrets over the internet?
Who needs foreign enemies with scintillating home-grown brains like yourself?
likely not a foreign agent…. he’s just another lippy keyboard warrior way over his skis.
Who does trump work for and why is he so bad at basic mathematical functions? LOL!
DEI for mediocre white kids. Not all of them can become plumbers.
Mentioning white people and DEI in the same year might send lots of sensitive white people into psychotherapy. Keep up the good work!
I find myself in the strange position of applauding the visa move by Trump. The Hb1 visa program has been used and abused by corporate America to arbitrage wages, pitting US citizens vs. foreigners, for far too long and to a far greater extent than was intended by Congress.
So unlike Trump to address the needs of US workers; his motivation for this action was more likely a vindictive slap at India, which rejected his colonialist demands to stop buying Russian oil.
Corporate America will just have the work done in Bangalore.
They’ve been threatening to since 2000.
Does India have an H1B type of program like the U.S. This will be for all the American Corporate execs who will need to move to India in they move the work to Bangalore? Does Corp America really want to move their HQ to India?
India is a filthy, overpopulated shit hole.
Yep. This will backfire.
that didn’t work out so well in the past for them. See Dell as the most visible example.
25th amendment time for this lying, incompetent piece of shit!
<<<
breathe.
But the people like incompetence in their presidents!
Witness every presidential election
Most of the time you cannot create a Fascist state all at once from whole cloth. You must build it piece by piece. The American’s finally have a good start. Power to the big corporations that can afford it.
This will just mean more offshoring.
Yup. They’ll go where the workers are.
So at least then the Emperor will not have any clothes.
Or AI will make H1-B’s and offshoring un-necessary.
lol, bye.
What is taco’s take from these “fees?”
yuge
as posted in summer . GOLD WILL BE ULTIMATE WINNER AND ARBITER of this constant BS!
4000$ PER OUNCE IN 2025!
AND 1000$ MORE EACH AND EVERY YEAR next, infinity and beyond
5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 …
take my word to the bank!
We’re going to take that money and we’re going to reduce taxes, we’re going to reduce debt,” said Trump.
=====
what A LIAR. what a effing LIAR!!
jesus!!!!! biden looks like more and more reasonable person.
====
and i am not even talking about bill Clinton. last decent president of USA
it is earth and heaven comparing..
Behind closed doors, our top CEOs say Trump is bad for business and it’s time to Make America into America Again
Behind closed doors, our top CEOs say Trump is bad for business. Make America into America Again | Fortune (archive.ph)
Well I can certainly imagine the turmoil due to this latest proclamation. I was in an engineering all hands meeting a week ago with about 20 to 30 electrical engineers from California. I was the only non-Indian in the meeting. What a hoot indeed!
= I was the only non-Indian in the meeting
you should have called for Baltimore schools pupils. !!wait , you cant !!
they dont even have single person who is proficient in school math !
[deleted my own dumb OT remark]
“Math Lesson #2 for Trump
You cannot pay down debt while running massive deficits.”
While the lesson is absolutely correct, it is also true that while running a deficit of any amount, the debt is growing. The deficit must be eliminated before debt can be reduced.
you make too much sense!!
obv, you are putin;s bot. ICE-FBI are on its way!
Of course, so why brag about reducing debt when trump should simply say it would reduce the deficit (and even that would be marginally, as Mish demonstrated). Because trump always lies, and cannot resist claiming successes that arent real.
Hahahaha!
What a show!
With the “trillions and trillions” of tariffs that Trump claims we have already collected, plus the “hundreds of billions” from H1b visas starting now, we should be running a big surplus this year.
Michael Engel’s prediction is coming true. That huge surplus will pay down our 38 trillion debt in no time at all; make SS solvent; eliminate income taxes; and provide every American with big dividend checks.
What makes it even better is how Trump is also lowering the prices of everything. Pharmaceuticals are down 1500%. Soon, gas stations will pay you to fill up.
Welcome to the Golden Age.
Life has become better, comrades, life has become more cheerful
Stalin 1935
well compared life in Russia empire in 1905 and 1935
he was right!
Too bad he singlehandedly sunk it by killing everyone around him who was actually improving things.
they put all extra money in defence funds. ooops
it is NOW OFFENCE FUNDS.. you know, to blow off people w/out trial
Thanks to him, we have 1.99 gas. Only a matter of time until they pay us. Lol
Not to worry. He will soon drop gas prices by 1500% too.
And when he gets rid of all the wind and solar, electricity prices will fall as well.
The guy’s a genius.
And we all want free energy.
… and these monkeys… they keep flying out of my butt!
White House tries to tamp down corporate panic for high-skill visa holders
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/20/donald-trump-h1b-visas-overhaul-00574345
MIGA!
Pucker up, Tim Apple, and bring more shiny baubles, if you want this waived.
The tech corps will bend the knee again, and in another month there will be some new sanction imposed that will require more payoffs and butt kissing.
Disney’s already paying the price for what they did to Kimmel.