Explore the "winners and losers" of the Trump administration's H-1B visa fee

The Trump administration said the new H‑1B fee curbs abuse but still attracts top talent

In announcing a fee on new H‑1B petitions, the Trump administration claimed the visa was exploited to replace American workers and suppress wages. Officials argued that a steep fee would deter abuse while still allowing employers to bring in the "best of the best" temporary foreign talent.

Trump's H-1B fee hike could reshape US industries and global talent flows

Analysts warn the new H-1B fee could trigger labor shortages in tech, medicine, and universities; push firms to offshore more work; and drive skilled Indian workers and students toward other countries—weakening America's innovation edge.

President Trump implemented a $100K fee on new H-1B visa applications

In September 2025, President Trump announced a $100K application fee for new H-1B petitions, framing it as a way to limit misuse of the program. His administration later clarified it was a one-time fee for new applicants, not an annual charge. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The new H-1B fee will have a major negative effect on India

Because those born in India receive about 70% of H-1B visas, the $100K fee could sharply limit Indian IT firms' access to US markets and redirect skilled Indian workers to other countries.

Study shows H-1B visas depress wages and reduce consumer tech costs

A paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that without H-1B workers, American computer scientists would earn 2.6% to 5.1% more and domestic employment could rise by 11%, but consumers would pay more for advanced technology, and output would decrease.

Only about 70 employers have paid Trump's $100K H-1B fee as of February 2026

Only about 70 employers have paid the $100K fee for certain H-1B hires since it was imposed by presidential proclamation in September 2025, a DOJ attorney said in court, as judges weigh whether the charge requires explicit congressional authorization.

Critics call H-1B the "outsourcing visa"

Large IT firms, especially in India, have used H-1Bs to place workers in US offices, train them on client systems, and then shift the work overseas at lower cost. This practice fuels criticism that the visa facilitates offshoring.

Studies link H-1B workers to patents, innovation, and productivity growth in the US

Research shows that H-1B visa holders boost innovation: Firms that employ many H-1Bs file more patents. Economists estimate that foreign STEM workers helped explain 30% to 50% of nationwide productivity growth from 1990 to 2010, while immigrant inventors disproportionately generated high-value patents.

Studies show H-1B workers help address shortages in STEM fields

Research finds that unemployment rates in occupations employing large numbers of H-1B workers remained low between 2004 and 2023, even during the pandemic. Other studies suggest H-1Bs complement US workers in STEM fields and expand job opportunities.

H-1B visas let US employers hire skilled foreign professionals in specialty occupations

The H-1B is the main US program for temporary high-skilled workers, covering roles in technology, engineering, medicine, and finance. Issued for up to six years, it often serves as a pathway to permanent residency.

H-1B approval rates have swung sharply between administrations

Denial rates for new H-1B petitions rose from 6% in 2015 to 24% under the Trump administration as officials tightened standards. Under Biden, approvals rebounded, with denials falling to just 2% by 2022—the lowest since 2009.

High demand forces H-1B visas into a lottery system each year

Because demand far exceeds the annual cap—65,000 new visas plus 20,000 for US master's graduates—employers must enter a lottery for new H-1B slots. In recent years, several hundred thousand petitions have competed for just 85,000 openings.

Congress temporarily raised the H-1B cap during the dot-com boom

To meet soaring demand for tech talent in the late 1990s, Congress lifted the H-1B cap from 65,000 to 195,000 visas between 2001 and 2003. The increase—tied to the dot-com bubble—lapsed once demand slowed, but an additional 20,000 slots for advanced degree holders were added.

Behind the scenes on tariff politics

Economist Gene Grossman joined the Trade Talks Podcast to discuss why tariffs really happen. The episode digs into how voters, politicians, lobbyists, and even campaign cash can affect when protectionist trade policies are put forward. Produced in 2019, the podcast also discusses how populist trade policies and identity politics accounted for Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 Presidential election.

Employers must apply for H-1B visas on behalf of foreign workers

To hire an H-1B worker, US employers first file with the Department of Labor, then petition the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. They must attest that they won't replace American workers, and that they will implement stricter rules for firms that rely heavily on H-1B visas.

Some argue that restricting illegal immigration would raise wages for lower-income American workers

The Heritage Foundation argues that illegal immigrants' willingness to work for below-market wages suppresses wages for low-skilled American workers—and that reducing illegal immigration would increase wages and job opportunities, particularly for workers without a college degree.

An economic evaluation of US tariffs

Most economists agree that the implementation of large-scale tariffs on foreign goods would hurt both the American and global economies. This video from The Wall Street Journal explains the rationale for tariffs as a tool for domestic job creation, but explains why they may hurt the overall economy.

The overall economic effect of President Trump's 2025 tariffs remains unclear

Researchers from UCLA and Yale found that tariff revenue and gains to US producers largely offset importers' costs—but the broader picture is murkier, as the trade deficit rose, manufacturing jobs declined, and 90% of tariff costs were passed through to importers rather than absorbed by foreign exporters.

The future of higher education in the US

In this episode of Wired’s Have a Nice Future podcast, education journalist Paul Tough joins hosts Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode to tackle a big question: Is attending college in the United States still worth it? As tuition climbs and the payoff feels murkier, they dig into what’s broken in higher education, and whether it can be fixed.

Both parties largely agree that America's immigration system is broken

This three‑part podcast series traces America's immigration system origins, revealing how historically celebrated Ellis Island-era policies evolved into today's fractured, fact‑starved debate—shedding light on economic, cultural, and political forces shaping the current dysfunction.

Nearly 400,000 H-1B applications were approved in 2024

In 2024, nearly 400,000 H-1B petitions were approved, with about 65% of them renewals for existing workers. Roughly 70% of recipients were born in India, and nearly two-thirds of all H-1B jobs were in computer-related fields.

The Immigration Act of 1990 created the modern H-1B visa

Signed by President George H.W. Bush, the 1990 Immigration Act split the broad H-1 category into specialized visas, establishing the current H-1B for "specialty occupations" requiring at least a bachelor's degree. The H-1A, for registered nurses, ended in 1997.

Worth more than $14T, Silicon Valley may be getting too expensive for future founders.

Student debt is a trillion-dollar question

Former Purdue University president Mitch Daniels and others discuss the student debt crisis. This episode digs into how we got here, whether college is worth borrowing for, how to address the economic drag of student debt, and whether alternative routes to a four-year degree could be part of the solution.

Listen to legendary investor Marc Andreessen argue against the 'lump of labor fallacy,' the idea that there's a finite amount of work in an economy.

The first H-1 visa was created in 1952

Congress established the original H-1 visa in 1952 through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to let US employers temporarily hire foreign professionals of "distinguished merit and ability" when qualified American workers were unavailable—a precursor to today's H-1B program.

AI investment may be the next major economic bubble

A video examines the massive surge in AI spending—forecast to hit $500B by 2026—and how this may be propping up a fragile US economy. Experts warn that if AI investment slows or under-delivers, the consequences could be felt in markets, jobs and growth.

Listen to scholars debate abolishing the Electoral College

In this 2016 podcast episode, Harvard's Alex Keyssar and UVA's James Ceaser debate why the Electoral College was created, how parties reshaped it, and what reforms—national popular vote, runoffs, district allocation—could replace it.

College budgets, explained

In this episode of the FutureU podcast, higher education experts Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn explore why so many colleges seem to be struggling financially. Hear how college budgets actually work, and why so many are unsustainable. It’s a crash course in revenue, expenses, and the big shifts schools need to make to survive.

Immigrants generated about $1.7T in economic activity in 2023 and paid roughly $652B in taxes.

A podcast on America’s coming demographic crisis

This podcast explores how America’s coming demographic crisis is bad for employers. According to Bloomberg, businesses still need humans to make the economy work. However, too few workers in the US are actually working, and too few people are...

Track how American tariffs have impacted different countries and industries.

Listen to an interview with a gig economy expert

In this podcast episode, the hosts sit down with NerdWallet Senior News Editor Rick VanderKnyff, a gig economy expert who explains why the sector grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, what defines a gig worker, how gig workers handle their finances, and more.

Silicon Valley’s reign over tech, money, and politics

Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and others are getting into politics. From Musk’s role in President Trump’s second term to Hoffman’s spending on former Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign, more tech CEOs are expanding into politics. This podcast episode by WBUR and American Public Media discusses what the impact could be with so many tech figures engaging in American politics. Listen here.

The venture capital mindset is shaping the US into a 'portfolio state'

For decades, the US has operated as a low-regulation, private-sector-driven, globalized economy (also known as neoliberalism). In recent years, the Trump administration has taken direct stakes (rather than providing subsidies) in private companies with strategic products like semiconductors and rare earths. This paper argues the approach allows the US to capture the upside of growth.

'Planet Money' debates the financial indicators that defined 2025

In this end-of-year episode, "Planet Money" stages a playful debate over which economic indicators best captured the chaos of 2025—from tariffs to AI bubbles—and which signals may matter most as the US economy heads into 2026.

The global horse market is worth about $400B

In this podcast episode from a new series on horses, Freakonomics explores the market around buying and selling some of the world's top sport horses, and the nebulous forces that make them so valuable.

Listen to a podcast episode about why college sticker prices are often misleading.

Hear the reasoning behind Trump's resurrection of the Monroe Doctrine in 2025.

Pros and cons of minimum wage

The federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 2009. Over the past decade or so, proponents of significantly raising the minimum wage have argued that doing so could reduce reliance on government financial assistance programs and increase consumer spending. But opponents say higher labor costs could lead to job cuts.

Visa overstays account for nearly 40% of illegal US entries

In fiscal year 2023, approximately 510,000 people overstayed their visas, while 860,000 crossed the border illegally, meaning overstays accounted for 37% of the total number of new unauthorized arrivals. This represents a shift from 2007 to 2018, when overstays outnumbered border crossings, to 2019, when illegal crossings surged again.

Disney's IP problem, according to industry experts

Disney seems to be an unstoppable force in the entertainment industry, but after an unprecedented high point in 2019, the company began losing money. In this podcast, two industry veterans discuss what they see as Disney's existential problems: an overreliance on preexisting material and an inability to innovate as it once did.

Read an overview of US tariff policy before the second Trump Administration

This comprehensive report from the Congressional Research Service explores the evolving role of tariffs—from a major source of government revenue to a tool for trade and foreign policy—providing insights into current practices, legal foundations, and global trade dynamics.

A Wall Street Journal podcast examines allegations inside the WEF

In this episode of "The Journal," WSJ reporter Shalini Ramachandran investigates claims from current and former employees that the organization behind Davos fostered a toxic workplace, sparked by an anonymous whistleblower letter in 2025 and internal accounts.

How the Trump administration explained the firing of the NSF's National Science Board

The White House argued that the April 24, 2026, decision resulted from the 2021 US v. Arthrex Supreme Court ruling, which "set limits on the powers of executive branch officials who are not Senate-confirmed" and therefore conflicts with the law that created the NSB. As of May 2026, the administration has yet to explain its next steps for the advisory arm of the National Science Foundation, which has lost about a third of its staff since the start of 2025.

Does minimum wage hurt workers?

Many economists traditionally believed raising the minimum wage hurt workers more than helped them. They argued that doing so would lead to job losses believing that if something is more expensive (like labor), people (like business owners) would want to buy less of it. However, recent research suggests otherwise.

Listen to Palantir CEO Alex Karp's outlook for how AI will change the economy.

Trump's 2025 tariffs represent a significant break from the rules-based trade order

The Trump administration imposed broad tariffs on other countries outside WTO rules in 2025, claiming that those countries had long violated trade agreements and that the US was simply leveling the playing field.

Student loan forgiveness is a contentious topic

President Joe Biden's plan to forgive up to $20K of student debt per borrower was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court. But at the center of the debate about his proposal sat one core question that persists today: Is student loan forgiveness fair?

Listen to a pay transparency expert breakdown what she's learned about negotiating a higher salary.

Maybe you've seen one of Hannah Williams' videos on social media. On her viral "Salary Transparent Street" accounts, Williams stands on the street with a microphone and asks passersby to tell her how much money they make per year. This podcast interview with Williams details what she's learned about pay transparency in the process. Listen to it here.