The Trump administration’s sudden overhaul of the H-1B program has left Corporate America anxious—and mostly silent. A new $100,000 per-worker fee, announced on Sept. 19 and effective Sept. 21, together with a plan unveiled on Sept. 23 to favor higher-paying job offers in the annual selection, amounts to the most sweeping reset of the high-skilled visa in years.
What changed, fast
The immediate panic has cooled after the clarification on renewals, but worry persists heading into the 2026 H-1B cycle. Companies are weighing legal challenges to both the fee and the wage-based selection. If the fee stands, Bloomberg Economics expects visas to shift toward higher-paid roles in tech, finance, and healthcare, and away from lower-paid categories such as education. Public USCIS data also shows median H-1B pay is highest at consulting and tech firms, reinforcing where approvals could concentrate.
Most big employers are keeping their heads down. As Kathryn Wylde, who leads the Partnership for New York City, puts it, the business community is spooked about publicly criticizing the White House—and is also worried this signals the US pulling back from the global economy.
Behind the scenes, companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet have urged current H-1B staff and employees with pending petitions to return to the US quickly and avoid international travel while the rules are in flux.
Some leaders are speaking up, carefully. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon says visas are crucial for moving experts across markets and warns the US must remain an attractive destination. Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy, himself an immigrant, argues global talent “adds a lot” to US tech—even if his company isn’t immediately affected. On the other side, Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings backed the fee, saying a steep price would confine H-1Bs to very high-value jobs and reduce lottery uncertainty.
Smaller firms might find a silver lining if big-company demand dips. But as Ben Johnston of Kapitus notes, the giants can still afford elite talent: if hiring a specialized worker was worth it before, many will judge it still worth it after an extra $100,000.
For now, companies are largely waiting it out—managing travel risk for current workers, modeling costs for future hires, and watching potential court fights and state reviews (including scrutiny from California’s attorney general) that could reshape, or even reverse, what happens next.
Source: US Companies Go Quiet as $100,000 H-1B Fee Upends Hiring Plans