As sweeping changes take hold on United States immigration policy and practice, the long-standing H-1B visa policy employed by the domestic businesses has inevitably endured adjustments of its own in recent months. The ramifications not only affect the individuals seeking those visas, but the business that are looking to employ them as well.
The H-1B visa was created as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with specialized skills to work in the United States for a specific period, usually in fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). A bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required. Every year, US employers seeking highly skilled foreign professionals compete for the pool of H1-B visas, which the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) control the allocation of.
The visa is most associated with the tech industry. According to the Pew Research Center, as many as 60% of the H-1B visas granted since 2012 have been in computer related fields. However, healthcare facilities, universities, financial institutions and many others looking to supplement worker shortages have found themselves vying for the 65,000 annually available visas. An additional 20,000 are available for those who hold master’s degrees or doctorates from a U.S. institution of higher learning. Some institutions, including certain universities and non-profits, are exempt from these limits.
Before employers can file a petition with the USCIS, the employer must take steps to ensure that hiring the foreign worker will not harm U.S. workers, including the following:
Employers must first attest, on a Labor Condition Application (LCA), certified by the Department of Labor, that the employment of a H-1B worker will not affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.
- Employers must also inform existing workers of their intention to hire H-1B workers.
Some economists claim that H-1B work creates new job opportunities for native born workers in numerous ways, citing that foreign workers often have different skill sets than native born workers, thus they are filling different types of jobs; also, foreign workers spend and invest their wages in the U.S. economy, thus increasing consumer demand; and new ideas and innovations developed by immigrants fuel economic growth.
However, critics of the program claim it is, yet another corporate greed move that increases company profits at the expense of investing in American workers. And some claim there is exploitation of these foreign workers, and it is not talked about enough. The narrative is that many are being paid below median wage, and less likely to report workplace mistreatment or harm, fearing that they may jeopardize their visa status. Companies supposedly remain quiet because workers in such circumstances are less likely to be disruptive.
In lieu of such claims, reforms to the application process continue to be implemented.
H-1B does permit remote work, but with some stipulations and conditions. The conditions are intended to maintain that the specialized skills required to fulfill H-1B positions are maintained even in a remote capacity. Under new regulations published on December 17, 2024, H-1B visa holders remain eligible to work remotely, but stricter requirements are now in place to ensure the integrity of the H-1B program. Employers must be able to demonstrate that the remote arrangement does not violate the “specialty occupation” nature of the job.
Under the regulations, the key conditions for remote work in 2025 remain:
– Job specific requirements: The remote position must align closely with the outlined skills and duties in the H-1B petition.
– Enhanced Employer Oversight: Employees must clearly define and supervise remote roles to ensure compliance with H1-B requirements.
– Time Restrictions for temporary relocations: Employers working temporarily in different locations must adhere to stricter limits on the duration of remote work without updating the Labor Condition Application.
One condition that must be in place is that the H1-B worker must have been employed by the sponsoring employer for at least one year, thus ensuring that the employer has been able to evaluate the visa holders’ skills and capabilities to ensure that they can function in their capacity remotely. Also, the position should not inherently require the employees’ presence on site, but they must be able to attain productivity and communication.
H-1B visa holders may work outside of the United States but are subject to specific rules and limitations. If remote work extends beyond 60 days and occurs more than 50 miles outside the designated work site, the employer must file a new Labor Condition Application and amend the original H-1B petition. However, working outside the United States will require complying to both U.S. and foreign tax law, and assuring visa remains valid for reentry back into the U.S.–and provide evidence of continued employment.
In addition, approval must be granted by the USCIS for any telecommunicating arrangements. All of this process is designed to ensure that the work setup complies with the H-1B arrangements and does not violate the visa status.
Trump on H-1B, past and present
During his first administration, President Donald Trump, while admitting that his own businesses had used the H-1B visa program, considered the policy “unfair” and that it allowed companies to pay foreign workers less than American workers. In a 2016 presidential debate, Trump said “I’ve used H-1B, and, frankly, I shouldn’t be allowed to use it. We shouldn’t have it.” Applicants for H-1B from Trump businesses stopped in 2017.
Ultimately, Trump tightened restrictions on H-1B visa applicants during his first year in office, narrowing the definition of qualified occupations, requiring greater scrutiny, stricter vetting and more evidence detailing job requirement, thus resulting in greater denial rates.
Under Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” executive order of 2017, denial rates for H-1B visas shot up to 24% in 2018, compared to just 6% in 2015.
Debate is pronounced throughout Trump’s own party, in particular—on one side, wealthy members of the tech world are in favor of the visas, claiming they are a necessary tool for hiring skilled foreign workers and that there is a limited talent pool in the American work force for such jobs. Many major tech companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta rely on foreign workers to remain competitive, they claim, and their employment of H-1B workers has steadily increased in the last eight years.
On the other side, many members of Trump’s base who champion his immigration policies and promoting of American based innovation and manufacturing, say these visas allow employers to hire workers at lower wages than they would have to pay American workers in the same job—and have chastised tech entrepreneurs for not stepping up and investing more in American workers.
Trump himself has softened his stance toward the program, as recently as December of 2024, openly stating he has “always supported the H-1B program” and acknowledged its role in attracting highly skilled workers essential for maintaining U.S. competitiveness. Steve Bannon, however, denounced the reversal, calling the program a “scam” that only benefits corporations. But Trump advisor and current Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk is not only a vocal supporter of H-1B but claims he will “go to war” for it.
Advocacy of Musk
Elon Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen and a beneficiary of the H-1B program, remains a steadfast and passionate supporter of it. Musk initially worked under an H-1B visa and credits the program for his entrepreneurial success. His companies have been active participants in the program throughout his career. In 2024 alone, Musk’s Tesla corporation obtained 754 H-1B visas. Musk is also on record saying that the “number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low”, playing into the idea that the visa will help American companies remain competitive in the global market.
In lieu of Musk’s support, the fees for submitting H-1B applications have skyrocketed from $10 per registrant to $215 per registrant for fiscal year 2026. Musk essentially doubled down on his support, offering one of the reforms to the program should be raising the minimum salary of H-1B positions.
With ongoing immigration reform, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced the H-1B Modernization Rule, effective January 17, 2025, to update and streamline the process of how H-1B’s responsiveness adapts to the current workforce. The key provisions of the rule include:
- A clarified definition of specialty occupation, emphasizing that the role must require a bachelor’s degree.
- Allowing companies to file H-1B petitions on their own behalf to facilitate startup growth and innovation.
- Codify “cap-gap” extensions and automatically extend F-1 student status and employment authorization until April 1 of the relevant fiscal year.
- Greater enhancement of enforcement measures; the USCIS gains expanded authority to conduct site visits and impose penalties on employers who fail to comply with H-1B regulations.
Effects of ongoing tariffs
With burgeoning tariffs in place, the most obvious effect on H-1B work would simply be the burden of increased production costs for businesses, particularly in tech and manufacturing, thus leading to less hiring overall, including hiring of H-1B applicants. Though designed to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and protect domestic industries, the tariffs effects on immigration policies and the labor market will unfold in complex ways.
- In addition to leading to less hiring overall, the result of higher business costs due to tariffs could result in greater job losses, particularly in industries heavily reliant on international trade.
- The increase in cost on tech components could lead to higher costs to U.S. tech companies, leading to budget tightening and scaling back of hiring of foreign professionals.
- Businesses may decide to relocate to countries with more favorable trade policies, thus reducing the need to bring in skilled foreign workers.
- Due to trade tensions, the government may consider tightening visa policies still more, thus companies may be less inclined to bring in foreign workers.
- Trade tensions overall increase a sense of uncertainty, thus making it more challenging for both businesses and foreign workers considering coming to the U.S.—resulting in potentially heavier scrutiny of visa applications, longer processing times and greater rate of denial, as witnessed in 2018.
Further updates for 2025 include:
- Employers must list all locations in the LCA, including remote locations and temporary or hybrid arrangements.
- Employers must make sure wages are paid consistent with the location of their work, not just remote locations.
- With increased audits and oversight of LCAs, USCIS will likely conduct more audits to ensure compliance with location.
H-1B petitions may need to be amended if the location of remote work is changed to an area other than the initial Metropolitan Statistical Area indicated on original petition.
Some claim that the minimum pay for H-1B workers ($60,000 annual salary) should be increased, and that very few of these visa holders are working for that wage anyway. Thus, those qualified individuals applying for these jobs would not be competing with lower wage workers. The median pay for H-1B visa workers is, reportedly, $133,000 per year, which approaches the cutoff for the top 10 percent of all U.S. workers. And as these positions have largely contributed to the growth of the tech sector, they have, in turn, contributed to the availability of higher paying jobs for native born Americans by expanding the job base.
There are several important takeaways from this debate. At the very least, the H-1B program needs to be reformed to ensure fairness and equitability, and that protections are in place both for the treatment of foreign workers and the impact on American jobs. And beyond the broader immigration questions, maintaining U.S. leadership in science, technology and innovation is a worthwhile pursuit in retaining our nations competitive edge in key industries. Being able to attract highly skilled global talent has long been a tool in the United States maintaining global dominance in the tech industry. It needn’t be achieved at the sacrifice of American jobs, but by addressing these challenges, the U.S. can continue to thrive as a hub of innovation and economic growth.
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