The White House on Saturday released a fact sheet defending President Donald Trump’s decision to impose an annual fee of USD 100,000 on H-1B visa applications, arguing that American workers are being displaced by “lower-paid foreign labour.”
According to the White House, the share of H-1B visa holders in the US IT workforce has grown from 32 percent in FY 2003 to over 65 percent in recent years. This, it said, has coincided with rising unemployment among American computer science and engineering graduates.
“Unemployment among recent computer science graduates has reached 6.1 percent, and 7.5 percent among computer engineering graduates—more than double the rates for biology or art history majors. The number of foreign STEM workers in the United States more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, while overall STEM employment increased only 44.5 percent during the same period,” the statement read.
The White House accused US companies of abusing the H-1B system. It cited examples of firms receiving thousands of H-1B approvals while simultaneously laying off large numbers of American employees. One company, it said, was approved for 5,189 H-1B workers in FY 2025 despite cutting 16,000 US jobs, while another secured 1,698 approvals but laid off 2,400 workers in Oregon.
Framing the move as part of Trump’s “America First” agenda, the statement said: “Voters gave President Trump a resounding mandate to put American workers first, and he has worked every day to deliver on that commitment.” It also claimed that since Trump returned to office, “all employment gains have gone to American-born workers,” unlike the previous year under President Biden, when the benefits went primarily to foreign-born workers.
The decision has triggered concern in India, whose citizens account for 71–72 percent of H-1B visas. The Indian government said on Saturday that it is studying the full implications of the fee hike, warning that it could disrupt families and carry humanitarian consequences.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said both Indian and US industries have a stake in innovation and talent mobility and would likely consult on the way forward. “Skilled talent mobility has contributed enormously to technology, innovation, and competitiveness in both countries. Policymakers will assess recent steps with mutual benefits in mind,” he noted.