In a decision set to drastically impact Indian professionals in the United States, former US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation raising the annual fee for H1-B visas to a staggering USD 100,000. The move, billed as part of his administration’s wider crackdown on immigration, could alter the future of thousands of Indian workers employed by American tech giants.

White House staff secretary Will Scharf defended the measure, calling the H1-B programme “one of the most abused visa systems.” He argued it was originally designed to bring in highly skilled workers to fields where Americans were not available but has instead been misused.

Trump echoed the sentiment while signing the order in the Oval Office alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “We need workers. We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that’s what’s going to happen,” he said.

According to Lutnick, the steep fee would ensure only “extraordinary people” are brought into the US, while stopping companies from hiring cheaper foreign talent over Americans. “We’re going to stop doing that. We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top, instead of those trying to take jobs from Americans,” he said, adding that the programme could raise more than USD 100 billion for the US treasury.

The Trump administration has also introduced a new visa scheme called the “Gold Card”, which allows individuals of “extraordinary ability” to fast-track their Green Card by paying USD 1 million personally, or USD 2 million if sponsored by a corporation. Trump said the initiative would bring in “hundreds of billions of dollars” while giving companies access to “people of great expertise.”

The changes are expected to have a severe impact on Indian technology workers, who make up a large share of H1-B holders. The visas are typically issued for three years, renewable for another three, but with decades-long Green Card backlogs, many Indians face uncertainty if their companies choose not to pay the steep new fee.

When asked if the new charges would apply to existing visa holders, Lutnick confirmed: “Renewals, first times, the company needs to decide. Is that person valuable enough to have USD 100,000 a year payment to the government, or should they head home and the company hire an American?”

He added: “Either the person is very valuable to the company and America, or they’re going to depart. That’s the point of immigration – hire Americans and make sure the people coming in are the top, top people. Stop the nonsense.”

The tech industry, according to Trump, is in favour of the changes. “The tech companies love it. They really love it. The main thing is, we’re going to have great people coming in,” he insisted.