Discussion

• @danprimack Dan Primack on x

  Flashback: J.D. Vance's investments made use of H-1B visas he opposes https://www.axios.com/...

• @varmawarrior Rudra Varma on x

  @PressSec This should have been clarified in yesterday's decision There has been huge anxiousness and confusion People who had bought houses on mortgages , had kids in school went into a panic mode

• @harrisonlansing Harrison Lansing on x

  @PressSec Yesterday Sec of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee is annual, five times in a row. So you're saying he lied?

• @shaneeburns Shane Burns on x

  @PressSec This is not good enough. And not what America signed up for. Go review the celebration yesterday across MAGA and left of center white collar workers on X. A step in the right direction, but primaries are ahead. This is topic #1

• @winfieldryan Ryan Winfield on x

  @PressSec Major fail then. This should apply retroactively, but at a minimum it needs to apply annually to renewals. Otherwise it's no real incentive to hire Americans instead.

• @the_memeries @the_memeries on x

  @PressSec Well this ruined my day. It should apply to renewals. And it should apply to transfers. And it should apply to ones that leave and return. Because if they leave and return so much - why aren't they just employed remotely? Why do they need a visa?

• @eric_blair_2000 Eric Blair on x

  @PressSec WTF are you talking about?!!! Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was standing right next to Trump at the signing when he (Lutnick) said it absolutely is an annual fee!!!!

• @cernovich @cernovich on x

  @PressSec It needs to be annual. If the H-1B doesn't deliver enough value to justify the fee, why hire them if it's not intended to lower wages of Americans?

• @anarseldain @anarseldain on x

  @PressSec That is a massive mistake. It needs to be an annual fee, and it needs to be applied to current visa-holders. All current visa-holders have jobs which were taken away from Americans by a fraudulent system, abused by corporations. The American people trust you to fix this…

• @kairosx1_ @kairosx1_ on x

  @PressSec Took less than 24 hours to butcher one of the best things Trump has done in 5 years as president.

• @barefootstudent @barefootstudent on x

  @PressSec Holy smokes. Then the Executive Order solves nothing for current job seekers. And, if the $100,000 fee is a one time event it is just a parlor trick with no teeth. Gen Z is not going to be happy about this.

• @dijadi @dijadi on x

  I love when we have three different representatives of this government telling us three very different things because each one interpreted Trump's “weave” of incomprehensible nonsense differently. Very effective, very efficient, very esoterically ambiguous.

• @ramprasad_c Ram on x

  @PressSec To be clear is a phrase you morons should never use. Nothing you say or do is ever clear. The only thing clear is chaos and confusion. Lutnick is on tape saying the opposite.

• @christinapushaw Christina Pushaw on x

  1. The true competition with China is at the highest levels and the cutting edge of technology. That's why Zuckerberg is paying 8-figure salaries to bring AI engineers from China to the USA. The H1B program & rule change are irrelevant to this; H1B in tech is mostly lower & mid

• @atalovesyou Atal Agarwal on x

  One H-1B worker who can't return = → Startup can't launch = → 50 American jobs not created = → Tax revenue lost = → Investors move to other countries = → Next Google built in Toronto Small policy change. Massive downstream effects.

• @andrewgutmann Andrew Gutmann on x

  @ChristinaPushaw There are 3 credible and reasonable arguments against this policy: 1. It will make U.S. tech companies less competitive vis a vis foreign (especially Chinese) tech companies 2. It will lead to more outsourcing and even fewer high tech jobs for Americans 3. It fav…

• @natpmanning Nathaniel Manning on x

  I've spent my career building startups that require unique talents. Often on a team or 10-20 10-20% of the team is on h1-bs. I've always felt it my duty as an American who has one side that came over pre-1776, to have the company sponsor and pay to bring the best and brightest to

• @kevinh_phd Kevin Hall on x

  I was sponsored by a biotech startup on a H-1B visa in 1999. What's the plan to offset the impending collapse of highly skilled legal immigrants? Robust investment in American higher education? Nah, AI will probably obviate the need for these foreigners, right?

• @speaksamuel Sam Peak on x

  It's not just about whether firms can afford to pay this new H-1B fee (though you should care a lot about this question if you're worried about startup growth). Even for the many firms you can afford to pay this, they will respond by offshoring more of their operations abroad, [i…

• @sethbannon Seth Bannon on x

  AMERICAN CITIZENS who relied on H1-Bs to work here: Eric Yuan, Zoom founder Eren Bali, Udemy cofounder Sundar Pichai, Alphabet CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO Gustaf Alströmmer, YC Partner François Locoh-Donou, F5 CEO Andrew Ng, Coursera cofounder

• @juicesharp Sergii Guslystyi on x

  I have almost the same view on the issue but a remark. The early teams (and other mid-size businesses) had almost no a chance to bring anybody for the last 5-7 years because of bodyshops (registered tones of applicants as they don't care who pass who does not) because of lottery

• @lettieridc John Lettieri on x

  This is a crucial, overlooked fact about the H1B rule: it's yet another way the policy landscape will be biased in favor of entrenched incumbents. Which is terrible for American innovation. Lutnick even said as much in the Oval Office: “All of the *big companies* are on board.”

• @honorabledredd @honorabledredd on x

  I would think this will also bottleneck big tech in that it will force them to seek a smaller number of talent, and focus more on quality over quantity. It would also incentivize them to build stronger teams abroad. Like Apple built China's tech sector, that could happen

• @garrytan Garry Tan on x

  If you want America. startups to win this is not a secondary issue. It's a meaningful effect.

• @lilianbuilds Lilian on x

  While in London I spent time at some of the best-run startups and I always asked about the advantages of building outside the US: Being outside the US means top startups get all the best people (because there aren't many alternatives). The $100k H-1B fee will only amplify this,

• @harjtaggar Harj Taggar on x

  Startups should feel like an external grind where you're always fighting to get customers, not an internal grind where you're always fighting with your co-founders.

• @atalovesyou Atal Agarwal on x

  VC PERSPECTIVE on H1B: Startups typically raise $2-5M seed rounds. Imagine telling investors: “We need $500K just for H-1B fees for our 5-person engineering team.” VCs will ask: “Why not just build the company in Toronto?” Brain drain via cap table economics.

• @garrytan Garry Tan on x

  A $100K H1B annual fee won't bother big tech but it kneecaps startups and bodyshops the same, and that's a mistake. Early teams can't swallow that tax. Bodyshops who abuse H1B should be stopped. There are ways to do that without entrenching big tech and throttling startups.

• @johnsmillie42 John Smillie on bluesky

  www.cnn.com/2025/09/19/p...  The all out war on Academia, and quest to further embed tools of corrupt favoritism, continue

• @skimlines @skimlines on bluesky

  isn't twitter like a skeleton crew of h1b workers since it's latest sale www.cnn.com/2025/09/19/p...

• @scholten.house.gov Rep. Hillary Scholten on bluesky

  Make no mistake: President Trump's latest proclamation on H-1B visas is an attack on our economy, and a further assault on health care.  —  apnews.com/article/h1b-...

• @omicron416 Peter Jansen on bluesky

  Of course they warn that, they want to operate in the US but pay foreign wages and the fee interferes with that.  —  Personally?  I don't buy it.  [embedded post]

• @barbaricus @barbaricus on bluesky

  Just pay the man (they enthusiastically voted for and donated to).

• r/jobs r on reddit

  Trump administration to add $100,000 fee for H-1B visas

• r/Economics r on reddit

  Trump signs proclamation imposing $100K annual fee for H-1B visa applications

• r/politics r on reddit

  Trump to impose $100K fee on H-1B visas in new immigration action

• r/news r on reddit

  Trump signs proclamation imposing $100K annual fee for H-1B visa applications

• r/redscarepod r on reddit

  Trump to implement a 100k fee for h1-b visas

• @varunkrish Varun Krishnan on x

  Here is some interesting data on #h1bvisa recipients in 2025. Apart from TCS, most are American companies. [image]

• @lxeagle17 Lakshya Jain on x

  This is a big deal. It'd be really nice if the tech people who came up with a thousand reasons to vote for Trump last year had thought about this when there was time to do something about it.

• @stephangeering Stephan Geering on bluesky

  With so many own goals, Europe has the perfect opportunity to win the match for talent.  [embedded post]

• @lorak Lora Kolodny on bluesky

  notice how many companies here are major employers in blue states?  especially california?  and how many are companies elon musk wants to compete with & has vocally bashed.  www.cnbc.com/2025/09/20/t...

• @bdowney Brandon Downey on bluesky

  My sympathies for every worker here in the US on a visa.  I've spent my life in a career with immigrants who come here — some temporarily, some permanently, and they have both literally and figuratively enriched my life and all our lives.  —  This is why elections matter.

• @zbs @zbs on bluesky

  people were (quite reasonably) saying they thought the deadline was overhyped and only applied to new visas, but uh...  [embedded post]

• @quinnypig.com Corey Quinn on bluesky

  Appeasing fascists somehow never works out the way corporate interests think it will.  [embedded post]

• r/Economics r on reddit

  Big Tech companies, foreign governments scramble after Trump slaps $100,000 fee on H-1B visas

• r/XGramatikInsights r on reddit

  Microsoft has urged its employees on H-1B and H-4 visas to return to the US by Sunday before the Trump administration's September 21 deadline …

• r/devpt r on reddit

  Microsoft asks all its foreign staff to return to US by Sunday after Trump's H1-B bombshell - The Economic Times

• r/Economics r on reddit

  Microsoft asks all its foreign staff to return to US by Sunday after Trump's H1-B bombshell

• @rapidresponse47 @rapidresponse47 on x

  Corporate lawyers and others with agendas are creating a lot of FAKE NEWS around President Trump's H-1B Proclamation, but these are FACTS: 1. The Proclamation does not apply to anyone who has a current visa. 2. The Proclamation only applies to future applicants in the February

• @joemillerjr Joe Miller on x

  WH official confirms to FT that new H1B fees will apply *only* to new applicants, not current holders or those renewing. Will kick in next cycle. Also it's not an annual fee, but a one-off at time of application.

• @devahaz Deva Hazarika on x

  We now have an official proclamation that says one thing, an official admin tweet that says another, and a cabinet official saying yet another different thing. Comical execution.

• @growing_daniel Daniel on x

  It's fun that this executive order was so poorly written that members of the administration are publicly disagreeing about what it means

• @deedydas Deedy on x

  I spoke to immigration lawyer Sophie Alcorn for an hour to answer the most pressing questions about the new $100k H-1B fee. Sophie's (@Sophie_Alcorn) represented startup founders, employees and employers for over a decade in the Bay Area and is one of the experts on the topic. [i…

• @hthieblot Hubert Thieblot on x

  If I'm reading this right, the new H-1B law is the biggest win for foreign students in years. Already on F-1/OPT? You're excluded from the $100k fee + face less lottery competition. Foreign-born, U.S.-educated talent can finally stay if they find work. Massive.

• @speaksamuel Sam Peak on x

  This is how the rollout of the H-1B $100,000 fee has gone thus far: - During the Friday White House Press Conference, the Secretary of Commerce, who has no authority over immigration, was invited to communicate the rollout of the new policy, where he said that it would be an

• @shakeelhashim Shakeel on x

  Even if this is true, the fact they did not think to clarify this at the time of the announcement is a nice demonstration of this administration's incompetence

• @pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x

  Crazy shit. You're left to make the decision: Do you trust this tweet or the official proclamation which says the opposite? Do we trust Lutnick that the fee is yearly or the proclamation (also at odds)

• @bindureddy Bindu Reddy on x

  MOST PEOPLE DON'T GET IT - FRONTIER TECH RELIES ON THE OUTLIERS We only have one Ilya, one Elon, and one Sergey Brin. We wouldn't have OpenAI, Tesla, or Google if we had banned H1-Bs And no, it is impossible to know who will be the next Elon or Ilya to pay the $100K fees

• @sidhant Sidhant Sibal on x

  Breaking on H1B Visa $100,000 Fee issue: -This is a one-time fee that applies only to the petition -It ONLY applies to new visas, not renewals or current visa holders -It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle -It does not apply to 2025 lottery winners

• @simonw Simon Willison on x

  Here's denial that this affects current visa holders from an official “rapid response” White House account

• @garrytan Garry Tan on x

  This current policy outcome = massive gift to every overseas tech hub. Cities like Vancouver/Toronto will thrive instead of American cities. In the middle of an AI arms race, we're telling builders to build elsewhere. We need American Little Tech to win—not $100K toll booths.

• @reichlinmelnick Aaron Reichlin-Melnick on x

  They need to PUT THIS IN WRITING. Because right now it's anonymous officials versus the actual words in the actual ban on entry that the President signed.

• @reenabhardwaj Reena Bhardwaj on x

  Senior White House official tells me “If you are visiting, leaving out of the country or visiting India, they don't need to rush back before Sunday or pay the $100,000 fee. $100,000 is only for new and not current existing it would be holders.”

• @esthercrawford Esther Crawford on x

  Weird seeing people who are supposedly champions of startups and Little Tech cheer on the introduction of a $100k for H-1Bs given it'll immediately be cost prohibitive for early-stage startups to hire from that very talented pool. Big Tech can absorb the fees, startups can't.

• @egeerdil2 Ege Erdil on x

  this is illegal since the relevant legislation only gives USCIS the authority to charge fees in order to cover costs, and is most likely going to get struck down by the courts in a few months people shouldn't discuss it as if it's a serious policy

• @cuthrell.com Jay Cuthrell on bluesky

  A few thoughts on the chaos of H1-B visa fee hikes via EO on a Friday fudge.org/archive/snea...

• @ejtaub Elissa Taub on bluesky

  This regime lies about everything all the time.  The black letter wording of the proclamation relates to all H1B entries.  They could've been more precise, but they're all nitwits and terrible writers.  So I can't advise without proof of what the rumors are.  Simple as that.  [em…

• @salma-not-hayek @salma-not-hayek on bluesky

  how long till “oh we made a typo we meant $100” [embedded post]

• @gloriasin @gloriasin on bluesky

  Well that basically kills the H1B visa.  So much for “legal” immigration.  [embedded post]

• @kentindell Ken Tindell on bluesky

  Deliberate mental torture of current holders to let them spent hours in fear and panic from to the previous announcement.  [embedded post]

• r/technology r on reddit

  White House tries to tamp down corporate panic for high-skill visa holders after last-minute overhaul

• r/economy r on reddit

  New H-1B visa fee will not apply to existing holders, official says

• r/politics r on reddit

  Trump administration tries to tamp down panic for high-skill visa holders after last-minute overhaul

• r/india r on reddit

  New H-1B visa fee will not apply to existing holders, official says

• r/neoliberal r on reddit

  Trump administration tries to tamp down panic for high-skill visa holders after last-minute overhaul