Sept. 20 (UPI) — President Donald Trump is instituting two major changes to the H-1B visa process, including the introduction of a so-called “gold card,” the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed in a media release.
Trump signed a pair of executive orders, one of which will institute a $1 million fee for high-skilled workers who pay the amount themselves, with the amount doubling to $2 million if the rate is paid by the person’s employer.
The second order will see the creation of a $100,000 fee for successful H-1B visa applicants.
Both changes were dubbed Project Firewall by the administration, which says the moves are meant to “safeguard the rights, wages, and job opportunities of highly skilled American workers.”
“This program will raise more than $100 billion, which we’ll use for cutting taxes and paying down debt,” Trump said in the Oval Office after signing the executive orders.
“They’re going to spend a lot of money to come in. We need great workers. And this pretty much ensures that this is what’s going to happen.”
Typically, there are 85,000 of the H-1B visas issued each year with a large number going to people working for tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft, government data shows.
Employers must certify that workers looking to secure one of the visas will be paid a salary similar to what a U.S. citizen would be and that the company is unable to find an American to fill the role.
Prior to the executive order, an employer could pay a $215 registration fee to enter a lottery to claim one of the 85,000 annually issued visas.
“The Trump Administration is standing by our commitment to end practices that leave Americans in the dust. As we reestablish economic dominance, we must protect our most valuable resource: the American worker. Launching Project Firewall will help us ensure no employers are abusing H-1B visas at the expense of our workforce,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement on the department’s website.
“By rooting out fraud and abuse, the Department of Labor and our federal partners will ensure that highly skilled jobs go to Americans first.”