In a move that has sent shockwaves through the global technology industry and immigrant communities alike, President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed a sweeping new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, dramatically raising the cost for U.S. companies to hire skilled foreign workers. The executive order, announced on September 19, 2025, is already reverberating across business sectors, sparking fears of mass offshoring, legal uncertainty, and deepening anxieties among immigrant workers from countries such as Kenya, India, and the Philippines.
For many, the new fee is more than a policy tweak—it’s a turning point. According to Reuters, the Trump administration clarified that the $100,000 charge applies to each new H-1B visa request, not to existing holders or those re-entering the U.S. after travel. Still, the immediate reaction among major tech employers was swift. Microsoft, JPMorgan, and Amazon, as reported by Reuters, advised their H-1B employees to remain stateside or return quickly, warning of potential complications as the new rules take effect.
The H-1B program, a lifeline for U.S. companies to fill roles in technology, engineering, and other specialty fields, has long relied on a talent pipeline from abroad. Indian nationals, in particular, account for roughly 70% of approvals, while Filipinos represent less than 1%, according to data cited by BusinessWorld. The new fee, which dwarfs the previous $1,500 charge, is expected to hit hardest in industries where foreign talent is indispensable, and for startups and smaller firms that may now find the cost of hiring from overseas prohibitive.
Jimit Arora, CEO of Everest Group Ltd., told BusinessWorld that the policy “is going to cause more offshoring,” as companies balk at the increased expense of bringing workers to the U.S. “Because people will not want to bring the people onshore, you drive more offshoring. And as you are driving more offshoring, you look at not just India; you also look at other geographies,” Arora explained. The ripple effect, he added, could see investments shift not only to India but also to the Philippines, Mexico, and Canada, where global capability centers are rapidly expanding.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry echoed these concerns, warning that the added cost “will increase the cost of hiring people from the Philippines to the US, which will lessen the job opportunities there,” according to Chairman George T. Barcelon. With the Philippines’ IT and business-process management sector already employing over 1.7 million people and generating more than $40 billion in revenue annually, the stakes are high for a country that counts overseas work as a key economic pillar.
Yet, for all the talk of economics and business strategy, the human dimension of Trump’s immigration crackdown is perhaps most starkly illustrated by the stories of three Kenyan men navigating the U.S. immigration system. As reported by Nation Africa, Martin Njogu Njoki, Wilson Tindi, and Samuel Kangethe—unrelated but now bound by a common fate—have all found themselves swept up in the administration’s mass deportation drive.
Njoki, 43, was charged in April 2025 with indecent liberties and unlawful imprisonment involving a 16-year-old girl while working as a Lyft driver in Seattle. He remains in custody at King County Correctional Facility on $150,000 bail, prohibited from contact with minors and required to surrender any weapons. Tindi, 42, was convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman in Minnesota and, after years of evading deportation, was arrested on June 27, 2025, on charges dating back more than a decade. During his period of legal limbo, Tindi even managed to secure a job with the Minnesota Department of Education, working in internal accounting.
In contrast, Samuel Kangethe’s case is marked not by criminal conduct but by legal uncertainty. Living in Lansing, Michigan, Kangethe has no criminal record but chose to self-deport to Kenya in 2025, fearing that a sudden arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement could leave an indelible mark on his record. His decision, painful as it was—he leaves behind a wife and three children, aged 13, 11, and 5—was shaped by a 2014 immigration ruling that deemed his previous marriage fraudulent. Although Kangethe presented evidence to challenge the claim, his court case was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually dropped from the docket. With a new hearing set for January 2026 and no judge’s ruling in sight, he found himself in legal limbo: legally deportable and vulnerable to detention at any moment.
These personal stories underscore the broader anxieties gripping immigrant communities as Trump’s administration moves aggressively to reshape U.S. immigration policy. According to Nation Africa, immigration attorneys and experts urge those facing removal to seek legal counsel promptly, warning that waiting to be deported can result in lengthy re-entry bans—ranging from five years to permanent exclusion—depending on the circumstances. Professor Kefa Otiso of Bowling Green University advises, “All Kenyans should make sure that they know a lawyer they can call on short notice to defend them when they get into legal trouble. Self-deportation is a good option when existing legal options have been exhausted.”
The policy shift has also galvanized the Kenyan diaspora to seek diplomatic intervention. As President William Ruto visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly, some Kenyans hope he will press for enhanced consular services, legal aid, and repatriation programs to support those forced to return home. California-based peace and conflict expert Mukulima Muriuki suggests seeking immediate legal counsel from organizations like the National Immigration Law Center or the Kenyan Embassy to “understand your rights and explore relief options such as asylum or voluntary departure.”
Back in the corporate world, the impact of the visa fee hike is still unfolding. Reuters reports that technology executives and investors warn the new costs could add millions of dollars to hiring budgets and disproportionately hurt startups. Industry body Nasscom cautioned that the move could “potentially have ripple effects on America’s innovation ecosystem” and disrupt business continuity for onshore projects. Emkay Global Chief Economist Madhavi Arora noted that “services exports have finally been dragged into the ongoing global trade and tech war,” predicting pressure on margins and the supply chain as firms recalibrate their onsite-offshore models.
Critics of the H-1B program, including some U.S. tech workers, argue that it suppresses wages and sidelines Americans. But supporters, such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk—himself a former H-1B holder—counter that skilled immigrants are essential for keeping American companies competitive. As Ganesh Natarajan, former CEO of Zensar Technologies, told Reuters, “The ‘American Dream’ for aspiring workers will be tough,” forecasting that firms will restrict cross-border travel and get more work done in countries like India, Mexico, and the Philippines.
As the dust settles on Trump’s latest executive order, the message is unmistakable: the landscape for skilled immigration to the U.S. has changed, and the consequences are rippling far beyond America’s borders. For companies, workers, and entire economies, the true cost of the new visa regime is only beginning to emerge.