Krishnamoorthi termed the fee as a '0,000 tax' on a group of workers who fill some of the most specialised technical roles in the US economy

Updated on: Aug 17, 2026, 15:52:15 IST

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US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has criticised the proposed $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, warning that the move could push highly skilled workers away from the US and encourage companies to offshore jobs.

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations requiring theoretical or technical expertise.

President Trump had issued a proclamation in September last year imposing the $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications. The move drew criticism from businesses and immigration advocates, who warned that the steep cost could make it harder for US companies to recruit highly skilled foreign workers.

What Krishnamoorthi said

Krishnamoorthi said the fee would effectively act as a '$100,000 tax' on a group of workers who fill some of the most specialised technical roles in the US economy. He stressed that the issue was not limited to workers from any particular country, saying it would affect people from India, China, Sweden and elsewhere.

“These people … fill some of the most exquisite technical roles in our economy,” Krishnamoorthi said on a podcast, adding that many H-1B workers had gone on to incubate companies that employ hundreds and thousands of people.

He warned that imposing such a high cost could discourage skilled professionals from coming to the US in the first place and make those already in the country reconsider whether they should stay.

Krishnamoorthi also raised concerns about the wider impact on American businesses, saying companies faced two choices when it came to accessing specialised talent: “You can either onshore the talent or offshore the work.”

“These companies are not going to just sit by and not do the work,” he said, warning that the policy could increasingly lead businesses to move work overseas rather than absorb the higher cost of hiring H-1B workers.

The $100,000 fee on H1-B visa decision put on hold by court

In July this year, a US federal appeals court refused to stay a lower court ruling that struck down the Trump administration’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas .

A three-judge bench of the Boston-based First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s request to pause US District Judge Leo T Sorokin’s June 8 ruling, which found the fee to be an unlawful tax not authorised by Congress.

"…we deny the defendants' motion to stay pending appeal to this Court, the district court's June 8, 2026, Memorandum and Order and accompanying Judgment," the bench ruled.

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