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The White House is seeking to explain a new $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas that was announced on Friday by President Trump at a press event.
The decision has unnerved H-1B visa holders and companies that sponsor H-1B visa holders, as it would significantly raise the cost of such a visa if the policy moves forward and survives legal challenges.
Trump’s remarks also unnerved some of those on the visas who are currently travling outside the United States.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday stressed that the charge is a one-time fee and that those who already hold H-1B visas that are now outside of the country will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter the United States.
“H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would; whatever ability they have to do that is not impacted by yesterday’s proclamation,” the press secretary wrote in a Saturday post online.
She clarified that the measure applies only to new visa applicants and will not impact current visa holders now or during their renewals.
“It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle,” Leavitt wrote in the Saturday post.
H-1B visas are issued to highly skilled workers and are currently priced at $215. The tech industry is known to widely employ laborers who enter the US through H-1B visas.
Officials within the Trump administration have argued the specialized visa is taking away jobs from citizens.
“If you’re going to train people, you’re going to train Americans.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on a conference call with reporters, according to the Associated Press.
“If you have a very sophisticated engineer and you want to bring them in … then you can pay $100,000 a year for your H-1B visa.”
Earlier this year, Trump created a $1 million “gold card” which offers a fast track to migrants looking for entry to the US. For companies, it will cost $2 million to sponsor an employee.
