On September 19, 2025, USA President Trump signed a proclamation entitled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” which introduced a new $100,000 payment requirement for new H-1B petitions filed after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on September 21, 2025.
A storm is brewing in the tech world, and it’s centered on a single, this staggering number: $100,000. The proposal has ignited a firestorm of debate across online forums like Reddit, LinkedIn, splitting opinions and exposing the raw nerves of the American tech job market.
Is this hefty price tag a long-overdue measure to protect domestic workers, or is it a self-inflicted wound that could stifle the very innovation that makes the U.S. a global tech leader? Based on the passionate arguments raging online, let’s break down the pros and cons.
The Argument For: Leveling the Playing Field
Proponents of the fee, particularly those on subreddits like r/jobs and r/AmericanTechWorkers, see it as a necessary course correction. Their argument is built on a foundation of personal experience and perceived injustice.
Pro 1: It Prioritizes the American Worker.
The core belief is that the H-1B program, in its current form, has become a tool to suppress wages. As one Reddit user put it, H-1B applicants are often “willing to accept much lower salaries… just to get hired and remain in the country.” This creates a scenario where qualified American engineers are consistently undercut. By making it financially punishing to hire from abroad, the $100,000 fee would force companies to exhaust the domestic talent pool first, restoring a competitive balance based on skill, not on who is willing to work for less.
Pro 2: It Curbs Potential H-1B Exploitation.
Another advantage of the $100K H-1B visa fee is that it forces employers to be more selective and intentional about their sponsorships. Companies are unlikely to pay such a steep cost unless the role is truly critical and the candidate possesses specialized skills that are hard to source domestically.
Additionally, it may reduce the number of new H-1B petitions, especially from smaller companies or for lower-paid roles, because the cost might make many hires uneconomical. In theory, this shifts the program away from routine or cost-saving hires and toward only the highest-value positions.
The Argument Against: A Barrier to a Brighter Future
On the other side of the aisle, the concerns are less about the present job market and more about the future of American innovation.
Con 1: Closing the Door on Global Talent
Many in the tech industry argue that there is a genuine shortage of highly specialized skills in fields like AI, cybersecurity, and advanced engineering. The H-1B program has long served as a critical pipeline for bringing the “best and brightest” minds from around the world to the U.S. By slapping a six-figure fee on every new petition, the policy risks shutting that door—particularly for startups and smaller firms that lack the resources of tech giants. Instead of leveling the playing field, the fee could tilt it further in favor of the biggest corporations. And the talent itself won’t simply vanish; it will flow to other countries eager to welcome it, fueling innovation and job growth abroad.
Con 2: Pushing Jobs Offshore, Not Onshore
Critics caution that a $100,000 fee won’t magically create more American jobs—it might do the opposite. Faced with such high costs, companies may decide it’s more economical to hire entire teams overseas and keep the work offshore rather than bring a single employee into the U.S. In effect, the policy could accelerate a long-standing trend of moving high-skill jobs abroad, eroding opportunities for collaboration between U.S. and foreign talent and weakening the domestic tech ecosystem.
Con 3: Weakening America’s Competitive Edge
The United States became a global tech powerhouse in large part because it attracted and integrated talent from every corner of the world. By making it prohibitively expensive to hire top engineers and researchers, the fee risks eroding this competitive edge. Innovation thrives when the best minds converge, and if the U.S. closes itself off, those innovators will gather elsewhere—fueling the rise of competitors in Europe, Canada, or Asia. Over time, this could chip away at America’s leadership in technology and reduce its influence in shaping the industries of the future.
The Final Verdict? There Isn’t One.
The passionate, and often sarcastic, discussions on Reddit reveal a deep chasm in the tech community. For every American worker who feels they’ve been replaced by a cheaper foreign alternative, there’s a hiring manager who insists they can’t find the skills they need locally.
The proposed $100,000 H-1B fee is more than just a policy change; it’s a referendum on what we want the future of American tech to look like.
Does it lie in protecting the domestic workforce at all costs, or in maintaining an open door for global talent to ensure innovation continues to thrive?
As it stands, the forums on the internet is convinced of one thing: you can’t have both.
Author: Disgruntled techie affected by recent layoffs.
Further Reading: Why Are There So Many Indians in Tech Jobs?
