US defends H-1B visa fee hike, cites data on ‘replacement’ of Americans
White House presents data to argue that American workers were sacked at the same time several companies’ requests for H-1B visas were approved
Even as lives of several Indians were turned upside down ahead of the festive and wedding seasons after US President Donald Trump inked on Friday (September 19) a proclamation to impose a hefty fee of $100,000 on H-1B visas, and they were desperately making a U-turn to return to the US after their tech employers asked them to come back within a day, the White House has defended the move saying it was done “to curb abuses that displace US workers and undermine national security”.
It also claimed that American companies were laying off their American technology employees and seemingly replaced them with H-1B workers.
'Curbing abuses'
On Friday, the White House came up with a fact sheet saying the president made the move “to restrict the entry into the United States of certain H-1B aliens as non-immigrant workers, requiring a $100,000 payment to accompany or supplement H-1B petitions for new applications to curb abuses that displace US workers and undermine national security”.
Also read: India voices concern over Trump’s new H-1B visa restrictions
'Foreign workers over American ones'
In a section called ‘Combating H1-B Abuses’, it said “American workers are being replaced with lower-paid foreign labour, creating an economic and national security threat to the nation.”
Presenting data-based information, the White House fact sheet said the share of IT (information technology) workers with H-1B visas has gone up from 32 per cent in FY2003 to more than 65 per cent in recent years.
Compared to that, the White House document said, unemployment among recent computer science graduates has become 6.1 per cent while it is 7.5 per cent for computer engineering graduates, which is more than double the rates for biology or art history majors.
Also read: Microsoft, JP Morgan ask H-1B holders to stay in US as Trump imposes hefty visa fee
It also added that the number of foreign STEM workers in the United States has more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, while STEM employment overall has only increased 44.5 per cent during the same time.
Layoffs, visa approvals
The White House also corroborated its claim that the American firms were getting rid of the country’s technology workers to make way for H-1B workers by revealing figures.
It said one company approved 5,189 H-1B visa workers in FY2025, while laying off around 16,000 US employees in the current year. Another got approval for 1,698 H-1B visa workers in the same fiscal year and laid off 2,400 US workers in Oregon in July. According to the White House, a third company has removed 27,000 US workers since 2022 while receiving more than 25,000 H-1B approvals. In February, another company reportedly slashed 1,000 American jobs after receiving 1,137 H-1B approvals for FY2025.
Also read: Trump: H-1B 'abuse' hurts US economy, security and STEM workforce
The fact sheet document also said that American IT workers were reportedly being forced to train their non-American replacements under agreements that are not disclosed.
'Disincentives for future American workers'
“The H-1B program is creating disincentives for future American workers to choose STEM careers, which threatens our national security,” it said, adding that Trump imposed higher costs on companies that plan to use the H-1B programme to deal with the “abuse of the program, stop the undercutting of wages, and protect our national security”.
In another section called ‘Prioritizing American workers’, the White House said the voters of the US gave President Trump “a resounding mandate to put American workers first, and he has worked every day to deliver on that commitment”.
Also read: Chaos at US airports as H-1B holders disembark in panic over Trump’s fee hike
“President Trump is using tariffs as a strategic tool to rebuild American manufacturing, secure our supply chains, and protect US national security. Since President Trump returned to office, all employment gains have gone to American-born workers—unlike last year during the same period under President Biden, when all employment gains went to foreign-born workers,” the fact sheet said.
India optimistic
While the Trump administration has clarified that the new fee is a one-time payment applicable only to new petitions, offering relief to many professionals currently working in the US, including Indians, the Narendra Modi government said on Saturday that the full consequences of the US decision on H1-B visas are being studied by all concerned quarters, including the Indian industry.
In a statement, Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said industries in both India and the US have a stake in innovation and creativity and could work out a path benefiting all parties.
Our statement regarding restrictions to the US H1B visa program⬇️
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 20, 2025
🔗 https://t.co/fkOjHIxEu9 pic.twitter.com/1rM9W3GYqC
“The Government has seen reports related to the proposed restrictions on the US H1B visa program. The full implications of the measure are being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry, which has already put out an initial analysis clarifying some perceptions related to the H1B program,” the statement said.
It also said that the US's move is likely to result in humanitarian consequences by the form of disruption caused to families, adding that the government hopes the problems will be suitably addressed by American authorities.