Trump’s $100,000 Visa Fee Spurs Confusion and Chaos

On Saturday, the White House attempted to clarify the proclamation, but many companies were still being cautious. As one attorney noted, “We are still flying in a somewhat foggy environment.” 

Wall Street banks and tech companies, large and small, were scrambling on Saturday to pinpoint how the proclamation by President Trump that imposed a $100,000 fee for visas issued to skilled foreign workers would affect the tens of thousands of employees it could impact. 

The new rules caused immediate confusion over the rules, and how the rules would be enforced. Shortly after Mr. Trump signed the proclamation on Friday, employees at Microsoft, Amazon and JP Morgan received notifications that employees with visas of H-1B status who were out of the country needed to return as soon as possible before the new rules went into effect at 12:01 EST on Sunday. 

The Trump administration attempted to clear up some of the confusion on Saturday by stating the fee would only apply to new applicants; therefore, renewals or current visa holders wouldn't be affected. In a social media post, the White House stated the proclamation would “not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to/from the U.S.”

While many executives, general counsels, human resources professionals, and their immigration lawyers ultimately said they were on the side of caution this weekend. Various firms and lawyers urged employees to return to the United States as soon as possible. Many watched the White House social media accounts for any relevant details. "We know this is an uncertain time for those on H-1B visas and your families," Jacueline Arthur, head of human capital management at Goldman Sachs wrote in a memo to employees Saturday. The memo also stated Goldman was collaborating with its lawyers "to examine the specifics of the order as more information comes forth to communicate with you" 

Bernhard Mueller, co-chair of the immigration practice group at Ogletree Deakins, stated he'd received a surge of calls from executives and board members regarding the new policy, and how to communicate it to their employees: "There are a lot of question marks all over this" he said early Saturday. "We are still flying a little foggy here."

Later Saturday, the U.S. citizenship and immigration services, gave a memo clarifying that Mr. Trump's proclamation only applies "prospectively to petitions that have yet to be filed". 

Additionally, the policy change will dramatically change how the U.S. issues what are called H-1B visas. The visas play an important role in helping employees fill roles in the tech industry.