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Trump to impose $100k fee for H-1B worker visas, White House says

(www.reuters.com)
1321 points mriguy | 5 comments | 19 Sep 25 19:59 UTC | HN request time: 0.241s | source
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roughly ◴[19 Sep 25 20:40 UTC] No.45306289[source]▶
I think there’s plenty of interesting debates to be had about immigration policy and its effects on the labor market, but one thing worth noting here is that the primary problem that damn near every other country on earth has isn’t immigration, it’s brain drain.

A core strategic strength of the US over the last century has been that everyone with any talent wants to come here to work, and by and large we’ve let them do so. You can argue how well that’s worked out for us - having worked with a great many extremely talented H1bs in an industry largely built by immigrants, I’d consider it pretty positive - but it damn sure hasn’t worked out well for the countries those talented folks came from.

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jpadkins ◴[19 Sep 25 20:49 UTC] No.45306392[source]▶
The top end of H1B has been great for America. In the last few decades, there has been growth of abuse of the program to get mid level talent at below market rates which really hurts the middle class in America. People need to understand that most reformists don't want to get rid of the truly exceptional immigration to the US. We need to limit the volume, especially the immigrants that are directly competing with a hollowed out middle class in the US. Let me know if you want further reading on this topic.
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roughly ◴[19 Sep 25 21:31 UTC] No.45306892[source]▶
The hollowing out of the middle class in the US isn't because of immigrants, it's because of a sustained campaign by capital to reduce the power of labor over the last 50-odd years and to concentrate wealth as best they can. Immigrant labor contributes to that because we've got inadequate labor protections and because we bought into the idea that lower consumer prices was a fine reason to ignore both labor and antitrust.
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1. tappaseater ◴[20 Sep 25 11:16 UTC] No.45312308[source]▶
It’s important to clarify that H-1B is a non-immigrant visa — you don’t get to stay if you lose your job. That matters because the debate isn’t about immigration itself but about how the program functions. H-1B was meant to supplement shortages in highly skilled roles. Over time, though, it’s reshaped whole categories of employment. Anecdotally, I see very few young U.S. devs compared to many late-career ones finishing out their working lives. If we dare to use the term “national interest,” the real issue is whether a temporary labor program has morphed into something that permanently alters the market.
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2. hshdhdhj4444 ◴[20 Sep 25 12:09 UTC] No.45312633[source]▶
This is false.

H1B is explicitly a dual intent visa.

It’s a non immigrant visa but also a pathway to citizenship.

And this is not just an abstract thing. There are, for example, very specific tax implications of this.

The dual intent nature of the H1B visa means the U.S. government requires H1B holders to pay Social Security and Medicare, precisely because the dual intent nature implies that they will be able to utilize those entitlements in the future.

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3. garbawarb ◴[20 Sep 25 13:57 UTC] No.45313466[source]▶
Should people on non-dual-intent work visas not be paying those taxes then? Because they do.
4. pandaman ◴[20 Sep 25 14:54 UTC] No.45313919[source]▶
It's false because "dual intent" applies explicitly only to non-immigrant visas and the term is referencing the applicants intent. There are no pathways from a non-immigrant visa to citizenship in the US.
5. tappaseater ◴[20 Sep 25 15:35 UTC] No.45314246[source]▶
You’re right — H-1B is dual intent. But my main point still stands: conflating H-1Bs with “immigrants hollowing out the middle class” is misleading. H-1B was designed to address shortfalls in skilled labor by granting temporary work authorization to foreign workers. On paper, it’s a fine idea.

In practice, the program has been abused, by body shops for instance, that we ended up with a new word: insourcing. That’s the real issue, and not immigration per se, but the way a temporary labor program reshaped whole categories of employment. And while politicians sometimes talk about fixing it, I wouldn’t expect much. If anything, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the “dual intent” aspect pared back in the future under the current guy.