The United States will add an additional 15 million yen to work visas to protect domestic workers, and Amazon, Google, and Microsoft will call on employees to 'quickly return to the United States'



In the United States, new rules that add high fees to work visa applications came into effect on September 21, 2025. As a result, it has been revealed that Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have been sending messages to their overseas employees instructing them to 'enter the United States immediately.'

Amazon, Google, and Microsoft tell H-1B employees to rush back to the US | The Verge

https://www.theverge.com/news/782258/amazon-google-microsoft-warn-h-1b-employees-return-to-the-us



Startup leaders warn new $100K H-1B visa fee will hurt US entrepreneurship and innovation – GeekWire
https://www.geekwire.com/2025/startup-leaders-warn-new-100k-h-1b-visa-fee-will-hurt-us-entrepreneurship-and-innovation/

In the United States, hiring foreign workers in certain specialized occupations requires an H-1B work visa. H-1B visas incur several fees, including a basic application fee and anti-fraud investigation costs, and as a rule, the employer is responsible for covering these costs. These fees vary depending on the application fee, with larger companies paying higher fees ranging from $6,000 (approximately ¥880,000) to $9,000 (approximately ¥1.3 million). However, President Trump recently signed an executive order that will increase the processing fee by $100,000 (approximately ¥15 million) for each new application, dramatically increasing the burden on companies.

According to a White House statement , the H-1B visa was originally created to attract temporary workers to the United States for highly skilled jobs, but it has been misused to replace them with low-skilled, low-wage workers. Because H-1B visas are issued by lottery, survey data released by Bloomberg in 2024 showed that many companies submit multiple applications for the same worker to increase their chances of winning. Therefore, in order to prevent American workers' jobs and wages from being squeezed, the government aims to provide visas only to the necessary personnel by increasing the application fee for H-1B visas.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt added in a post on X that 'This is a one-time fee at the time of application, not an annual fee,' and that 'those who already hold an H-1B visa and are currently outside the country will not be charged an additional fee for re-entry.' She added that 'This only applies to new visas, not existing visa holders or renewals.'



The technology industry is particularly reliant on H-1B visas. The following is a ranking of the number of H-1B visas granted by the federal government. Amazon, which ranks first, has over 10,000 H-1B visas, far ahead of the second-place companies. Other technology companies, including Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google, each have over 4,000 H-1B visa workers.



While Leavitt explained that the order 'does not affect existing H-1B visas,' it has been reported that companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are advising their employees working abroad to return to the U.S. The following internal memo, which has been circulating on social media and whose origins are unclear, states, 'Under the new H-1B visa order, you will no longer be able to enter the U.S. on an H-1B visa unless you pay an additional $100,000. For the time being, please refrain from travel or business trips and remain in the U.S. If you are currently abroad, please return to the U.S. if possible, prior to the deadline.'



When The Verge contacted each company about the reported internal messages, Microsoft declined to comment, and Google and Amazon had not responded at the time of writing.

There are concerns that the high fees for H-1B visas could have a significant impact on certain companies. Indian outsourcing companies, US-based technology sector companies, financial companies, and consulting firms are all using H-1B visas to attract workers. Chander Prakash Gurnani, former CEO of Tech Mahindra , an Indian IT company with a trillion-yen budget, criticized President Trump's decision, saying, 'The new rules on H-1B visas are a geopolitical turf war. The new rules send the message that foreign students are not welcome, foreign workers are not welcome, and the US government will impose whatever rules it wants, without any consistency.'

While big tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft rely heavily on H-1B visas, there's growing concern that startups are more susceptible to the high application fees. Gary Tan, CEO of Y Combinator , a startup investment firm, said, '$100,000 may not be a burden for large companies that could theoretically absorb the significant costs, but it will hurt startups. There must be other ways to shut out H-1B abusers without burdening startups.' Seattle-based startup founder Manny Medina also expressed concern that America's position as a business leader could be threatened, saying, 'The prohibitive cost of H-1B visas will drive talent to non-US cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and London.'

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