The H1-B Visa has been a lifeline for industries that depend on highly skilled foreign workers, including right here on Guam.  But a seismic change by the Trump Administration is now putting that pathway in jeopardy with a six-figure fee.

The H-1b visa is one of the most widely used U.S. work permits for professionals in specialized fields like engineering, technology, and healthcare.   It’s valid for three years, renewable for another three, with 65,000 new visas granted annually — plus 20,000 more for those holding advanced U.S. degrees.

But now, a major shift is underway. President Donald Trump has signed an executive action imposing a $100,000 application fee on new petitions. “And one of the biggest problems we have is that people, they go to the best schools and they do great and they get great marks and then they're thrown out of the country," said the president. "You're not allowed to stay. This way, a corporation will be able to, sort of like a signing bonus in baseball or football corporation will be able to get them to stay in the country.”

The president says tech executives are on board, with Trump adding, “I think they're going to be very happy. Everyone's going to be happy and we're going to be able to keep people in our country that are going to be very productive people. And in many cases, these companies are going to pay a lot of money for that. And they're very happy about it."

Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick framed the policy as a way to push companies toward hiring Americans first. “So the whole idea is no more will these big tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers. They have to pay the government $100,000. Then they have to pay the employee. So it's just non-economic. If you're going to train somebody, you're going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans, stop bringing in people to take our jobs. That's the policy here. $100,000 a year for H-1B visas. And all of the big companies are on board. We've spoken to them about the goal," he said.

But local immigration attorney Shane Black, of Baumann, Xu & Black Attorneys-At-Law, says the steep increase caught many off guard. He stated, ,”Although I did not anticipate such a drastic fee increase, I can not say that some measures related to changes in the H-1b program were unanticipated, particularly with what they have announced with regard to revising the prevailing wages.”

Black notes that while the White House is targeting alleged abuse in industries like tech, Guam’s situation is different. He says, “Guam and CNMI companies generally do not need to be incentivized to hire out of the local labor market from what I see.  The problem is that there are not enough qualified individuals for the positions that are needed in the labor market here. Many local companies have tried to hire people out of the continental us too, and have found it to be problematic.” 

That labor shortage, he says, makes the program critical for Guam – not only for private businesses but also for government and military projects.

And while the administration argues that higher fees will protect American workers, Black highlights a deeper contradiction – adding, “H-1bs generally apply to people with a U.S. four-year degree equivalency that are taking jobs that typically require a four-year degree at entry level as an industry standard.  If we are not properly educating people to meet this standard, I’m not sure that any fee or prevailing wage designed to limit the program, no matter how high, is going to do much to help the situation on its own.”

For now, the new fee only applies to fresh applicants in the upcoming lottery — not current H-1b holders or renewals. 

But with business on Guam already struggling to fill specialized roles, black’s advice is not to panic just yet. He says, “don’t freak out yet. There is a lot of noise surrounding this H1-b issue, and it is true that there is nothing in the current releases that suggests this would not apply to Guam or the CNMI. However, there has not been a lot of guidance yet related to the specifics of implementation.  Additionally, there is the possibility of an exception, though still vague.”

The president has also introduced a separate “gold card” fast-track visa – allowing foreigners or sponsoring companies to pay millions for expedited approvals. 

But with the H-1b now carrying a $100,000 price tag, the coming months will reveal how businesses, government projects, and the local workforce adapt — and whether exceptions can be made for the unique needs of the island.