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A number of America's top employers have halted their sponsorship of H-1B visas for certain roles. It comes after President Donald Trump's administration announced that sponsors would be required to pay a $100,000 fee for new applications. Newsweek contacted the companies planning to suspend sponsorship for comment outside of regular working hours. Why It Matters The administration announced the H-1B visa reform to continue attracting the best and brightest, while also ensuring the system is not being abused to bring in cheap labor and drive down wages for American workers. However, the move has faced pushback and legal challenges from some, who have questioned the president's authority to impose the fee, and raised concerns that it could undercut America's competitive edge in technological innovation. The concerns were at the center of a lawsuit filed this month by the Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business lobbying group, which warned that the fee was "cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses." What To Know In September, Trump announced that the U.S. would begin charging $100,000 as part of the application process for H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialized fields. The administration later clarified that the new fee would only apply to new applicants, and not current holders or renewals. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) also said this week that the fee would only apply to visa applications submitted on or after September 21 for workers outside the U.S. and who were not already H-1B visa holders. In addition, the fee will not apply to individuals changing visa types—such as those moving from an F-1 student visa to an H-1B. Mark Koestler, U.S. head of business immigration at the law firm HSF Kramer, told Newsweek that the notice "addresses the concerns we heard we from our clients." "In simple terms, the super fee will not apply to individuals in the United States in valid status (as long as the H-1B filing for them requests a change of status, extension of status, or amendment)," he said. "It will, however, apply to those who are outside the United States without a valid, current U.S. immigration status." Which Companies Are No Longer Sponsoring H-1B Visas? Some large companies have said they will continue using the visa program despite the new fee. In a memo sent to staff and published by Business Insider earlier this month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wrote that the company would "continue to sponsor H-1B applicants and cover all associated fees." However, some companies have already said they will be suspending their sponsorship of the visas or cutting back on sponsorship-dependent hires. Cognizant The IT consulting firm, founded in India and headquartered in New Jersey, has not specifically addressed the changes to the H-1B program. However, in a job listing for a South Carolina-based software engineering role posted on October 14, Cognizant said it would "only consider applicants for this position who are legally authorized to work in the United States without the need of employer sponsorship." Intuitive Surgical In late September, Business Insider reported that the California-based med-tech firm Intuitive Surgical had stopped offering sponsorship to applicants requiring an H-1B visa, based on notices attached to more than 100 job listings on its website and covering a range of roles. "Due to the uncertainty caused by the recent U.S. executive proclamation, we are temporarily pausing offers to candidates who require H-1B visa sponsorship," the listings said. Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services, which is one of the largest sponsors of H-1B visas, has said it will no longer be hiring applicants through the program. CEO K. Krithivasan told the Deccan Chronicle and The Times of India that the company had a sufficient number of H-1B employees already in the U.S., and would now focus on hiring local talent. "On H-1B, we have significantly localized our workforce in the U.S.," Tata’s chief human resources officer Sudeep Kunnumal said on a recent earnings call. "We believe our business model will be able to adapt quickly to any changes in immigration policy." Walmart Walmart, which employs an estimated 2,400 H-1B holders, has paused hiring candidates requiring the visas. The news was first reported by Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, and later confirmed by the company to the BBC. A Walmart spokesperson said that it remains "committed to hiring and investing in the best talent to serve our customers, while remaining thoughtful about our H-1B hiring approach." What People Are Saying Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said: "The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S." He added: "President Trump has embarked on an ambitious agenda of securing permanent pro-growth tax reforms, unleashing American energy, and unraveling the overregulation that has stifled growth. "The Chamber and our members have actively backed these proposals to attract more investment in America. To support this growth, our economy will require more workers, not fewer." Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur and former presidential candidate, said in an interview with Newsweek about H-1B visas: "There's a low nominal cost, but the fact is there was a really significant cost because of the bureaucracy and time and uncertainty, with a lot of companies tied up with it. So if one could genuinely resolve your H-1B visa quickly and efficiently at a cost of $100,000, I think there are some companies that would actually see that as a dramatic improvement. "There are others, you know, other pundits that might regard it as very anti-immigrant. I think it's a little more complicated than that. I worked at a firm that had an H-1B visa [holder], and he was trapped in legal limbo for months or years. And if the company could have extricated him from that at a cost of $100,000, I think that they would have jumped at it." Mark Koestler, U.S. head of business immigration at HSF Kramer, told Newsweek: "What many companies feared would be the practical end of the H-1B program will actually be embraced by a tremendous number of U.S. employers and U.S.-based foreign nationals hoping to secure one of the coveted H-1B slots. USCIS’s clarification makes clear that companies using the program to import foreign talent will suffer, having to pay the $100,000 fee. With those employers no longer pursuing H-1Bs, companies that wish to hire and retain talent that is already in the United States (regardless of whether they foreign nationals) will benefit from a greater availability of H-1B numbers during the annual lottery." What Happens Next The new $100,000 fee went into effect on September 21, and USCIS has told applicants that they will need to submit it through pay.gov prior to applying for the visa. USCIS says it has already received enough petitions to fill the regular 65,000 cap on H-1B visas and the 20,000 cap on H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemptions for the 2026 fiscal year, which runs until April next year.
