Opinion: The Trump administration's H-1B visa price hike will stifle innovation

"America's innovation economy is the global leader in imagining, designing and deploying the most cutting-edge technologies, whether in artificial intelligence, quantum computing or autonomous vehicles. But the Trump administration's recent alteration to the immigration landscape with a new six-figure fee on foreign workers threatens to reduce innovation breakthroughs and make business more expensive for entrepreneurs and innovators of all sizes in California."

"In September, President Trump signed a proclamation that slapped a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions for workers outside the United States. (This visa had cost a few thousand dollars before this recent change.) The petitions are submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by research institutions, entrepreneurs and industry employers on behalf of applicants who qualify for consideration given their advanced technical education and ability to help organizations fill critical tech roles."

"Immigrants have founded more than half of all billion-dollar startups (aka unicorns), according to the National Foundation for American Policy's 2022 study. The nonpartisan think tank's research also shows immigrants have founded or cofounded nearly two-thirds of the top AI companies in the U.S. Immigrants also propel cutting-edge research, as revealed by the recent crop of Nobel laureates whose work at American institutions helped garner international acclaim."

The Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions for workers outside the United States, a sharp increase from a few thousand dollars previously. Research institutions, entrepreneurs and industry employers submit petitions to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for advanced technical applicants who fill critical tech roles. The proclamation cites lowered wages, fewer domestic job opportunities and national security concerns as justification. Immigrant-founded firms represent over half of billion-dollar startups and nearly two-thirds of top U.S. AI companies, and immigrant researchers include multiple recent U.S. Nobel Prize winners. The fee risks reducing innovation and raising costs for California businesses.

Read at The Mercury News