Trump’s $100,000 fee could affect Oklahoma companies

Dale Denwalt

The Oklahoman

USA TODAY NETWORK

President Donald Trump’s decision to require a $100,000 fee for each new foreign worker visa application will impact Oklahoma’s tech, healthcare and education sectors the most, according to data compiled by the federal government.

The president recently issued a proclamation that requires employers seeking to bring a worker into the United States using an H-1B visa to pay $100,000 for each application. Workers will be denied entry to the United States unless the payment is made.

Trump said that companies using the visa program have 'deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.'

The restriction will be in place for one year unless extended by the president. Trump’s proclamation also allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive the fee if the hiring is in the 'national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.'

What is an H-1B visa?

The H-1B visa program is reserved for individuals employed in specialty occupations, often in technology, such as software engineers, tech program managers, and other IT professionals. The visas are approved for a period of three to six years. Workers from India were the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, with 71% of approved beneficiaries, according to government data. China was a distant second at 11.7%.

Holders of an existing H-1B visa who are currently outside of the country won’t have to pay the $100,000 to re-enter the United States.

Which Oklahoma companies use H-1B visas?

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, more than 3,000 H-1B visas have been approved for Oklahoma employers since 2021.

The company with the most visas approved by the federal government during that time is the human resources and payroll software company Paycom. The OKC-based company was approved for 576 visas, according to USCIS data.

The second-most number of visas approved during that time frame was Veridic Solutions LLC, with 453. Veridic is a software company that focuses on the cloud, app development and other IT services. Aside from those with software technology skills, Oklahoma employers have brought in hundreds of foreign medical professionals, educators and those with specialized skills for the energy and manufacturing industries.

Many Oklahoma employers who have successfully hired someone on an H-1B visa include the state’s universities and hospitals. Although several employers have hired dozens or hundreds of visa workers, many employers only turned in one or a handful of applications.

Before new fee, H-1B visas could still cost thousands

Before Trump’s proclamation that requires H-1B visa applications to include a $100,000 fee, the cost of hiring a foreign worker was still an expensive task.

The base filing fee was $460, plus additional fees that could end up costing an employer several thousand dollars to hire someone. Companies with more than 50 employees could be forced to pay $4,000 per application.

USA TODAY reporter Bart Jansen contributed to this article.