NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Big changes are here for U.S. companies and foreign workers. New visa rules kicked in on September 21, and the price of applying for a work permit has skyrocketed..
President Trump has set new H-1B visa application fees at $100,000, a big increase from previous costs that immigration attorneys say could impact Tennessee companies and healthcare providers.
The new fee represents roughly a 10-fold increase from previous H-1B application costs. H-1B workers are specialty occupation workers who are typically highly educated. Rose Immigration Law Firm Attorney Doug Russo says that includes those in specialized fields like medical doctors, engineers and professors.
"I don't expect any employer to pay such a high fee," said Russo.
For 35 years, companies have used the H-1B program to legally hire highly skilled foreign workers. The federal government approves 85,000 H-1B visas each year for highly skilled non-U.S. workers, with an estimated 700,000 people in the U.S. currently holding H-1B visas.
About half of Rose Immigration Law Firm's Tennessee cases involve companies applying for these visas, ranging from universities to manufacturers and healthcare providers.
"So just from the clients that we represent, they typically rely on the H-1B program when there's a shortage of U.S. workers in that particular field," Russo said.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the new charge on top of the existing fees reflects Trump's promise "to put American workers first, and this commonsense action does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down American wages."
She added, "The text of the proclamation is very clear, and it is unfortunate that uninformed reporters and corporate lawyers attempt to sow chaos and confusion. Americans have another reason to celebrate unprecedented action by President Trump to protect Americans from cheap foreign labor."
Russo expressed that rural areas where hospitals depend on international physicians could be impacted. Tennessee was the first state to pass a law allowing experienced foreign doctors to work without completing a U.S. residency, responding to a strong need for medical workers in the state.
"And that was really in response to a strong need to have medical workers here in the state of Tennessee," Russo said.
The new six-figure fee could undo that progress, according to Russo.
"They often have to rely on the H-1B program because they cannot find U.S. workers who want to work in those areas," Russo said.
USCIS data shows FedEx, UBS Business Solutions US and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are Tennessee's top H-1B recipients in the last fiscal year. Oracle, which is expanding in Nashville, is among the top users of the program nationwide.
The White House explains the fee doesn't apply to current H-1B holders and won't impact their travel.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@Newschannel5.com
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