Overview

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said employers will owe $100,000 per H-1B visa each year, with national‑interest exemptions possible, framing the move as a nudge to hire Americans.
• Companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and JPMorgan urged H-1B staff to stay in or quickly return to the U.S., with some internal messages citing a Sunday start for the new charge.
• Agencies have not released full implementation rules, leaving open questions such as applicability to existing visas, renewals and precise payment mechanics that could face court challenges.
• Trump also advanced the ‘Trump Gold Card,’ allowing permanent residence for $1 million per individual or $2 million via corporate sponsorship, with an initial 80,000 cards and a path resembling a green card.
• The White House projects more than $100 billion from the Gold Card and touts a proposed ‘Platinum’ option, while the steep H-1B fee could impose multi‑billion‑dollar costs on heavy users like Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.