U.S. businesses plan to retain H-1B visa holders within the nation's borders
The tech industry is abuzz with changes to the H-1B visa order, a development that could significantly impact the hiring practices of large US companies. According to reports published by Business Insider, the new visa order has prompted tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and JP Morgan to advise their foreign employees with H-1B visas currently abroad to return to the US within 24 hours.
The data from the New York Times reveals that a substantial number of H-1B visa holders are employed by these companies, with Amazon leading the pack, having over 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the US as of June. Microsoft and Meta each employed around half the number of H-1B visa holders as Amazon.
US Trade Minister Howard Lutnick stated that the changes to the H-1B visa order would make it unfeasible for companies to bring in inexperienced workers. The new annual fee for the H-1B category is a significant increase from the previous processing fees, standing at $100,000.
The changes could potentially lead to a shift in hiring practices towards American workers in the US tech industry. The increased cost of hiring foreign workers could make it necessary for companies to consider whether a job candidate is valuable enough to warrant an additional $100,000 payment to the government.
Internal communications from these tech giants and Amazon's staff were cited in the Business Insider report. The companies are concerned that re-entering the US after a period abroad could make hiring foreign employees significantly more expensive or even impossible.
The new visa order by the US government has also raised concerns about the employment of foreign workers in the US tech industry. The changes could potentially have a significant impact, potentially leading to more hiring of American workers due to the increased cost of hiring foreign workers.
Notably, the listed search results do not provide specific names of persons in the US Department of Commerce responsible for the new regulations on H-1B visa issuance. Landon Heid was nominated for Assistant Secretary for Export Administration but his nomination was withdrawn in September 2025; no other individual names related to H-1B visa regulations are mentioned.
Employees who cannot return within the given time frame are advised not to enter the US until further notice. The changes to the H-1B visa order could potentially affect the hiring practices of large US tech firms, with potential implications for the future of foreign worker employment in the US tech industry.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the H-1B category, a work visa, will now incur an annual fee of $100,000, up from a few thousand dollars in processing fees. The US government has issued a new visa order affecting H-1B visa holders, a development that is causing ripples within the tech industry.
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