It’s been a turbulent week for the global tech industry.
On September 19, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee for new applicants of H-1B visas, which allow highly skilled workers to live and work in the U.S. for up to six years. Trump framed the order as a crackdown on “abuse” of the visa program.
The decision triggered a frenzy across the tech industry, which extensively uses the popular visa category. Some of the U.S.’ largest companies — Amazon, Google, and Microsoft — have been among its biggest beneficiaries in recent years. Between 2020 and 2024, Amazon consistently clocked the highest number of approvals and received over 56,000 H-1B visas.
While companies have not yet explained how they plan to navigate this new change, some experts believe it could threaten the global talent pipeline. Others said it would have less impact because employers would be willing to pay the high fee, especially at a time when the competition for top AI researchers and engineering talent is fiercer than ever.
Rest of World spoke with tech experts and entrepreneurs to understand how American companies may be impacted by this decision. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.
