A group of lawmakers has called on President Donald Trump to withdraw a recently announced $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, warning that it could harm innovation and weaken America’s competitive edge.

In a letter dated October 21, seven members of Congress from both parties expressed alarm that the steep fee would disproportionately burden early-stage startups and small companies that often operate without steady profits.

The Trump administration introduced the new fee on September 19 as part of a broader effort to reform the visa system and increase oversight. However, the policy has already created legal opposition, including a lawsuit filed by the US Chamber of Commerce, which argues that the fee exceeds executive authority and violates immigration laws restricting fees to actual processing costs.

What does the letter include?

“The recently announced H-1B visa changes will undermine the efforts of the very catalysts of our innovation economy—startups and small technology firms—that cannot absorb costs at the same level as larger firms,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

The bipartisan letter, sent to both the White House and the Department of Commerce, was signed by Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jay Obernolte, Maria Elvira Salazar, Don Bacon, Suhas Subramanyam, and Greg Stanton.

“We agree that the H-1B visa program can be improved and that reform is needed to better align the system with America’s values and workforce needs. At the same time, we are concerned that the recent proclamation related to H-1B visa petitions will create significant challenges for US employers and overall weaken our competitiveness,” the letter states.

The lawmakers also warned that restricting access to skilled workers could drive talent abroad. “If US companies cannot access the required talent, many highly skilled workers may return to countries such as India, China, Israel, or Europe to launch companies that compete directly against US firms,” they wrote.

Concerns over impact on innovation

The new fee applies only to new H-1B visa petitions for workers outside the United States and excludes current visa holders. A process for requesting exemptions has been outlined, but critics argue it does little to ease the burden on smaller firms.

Lawmakers stated that the policy could severely restrict the ability of startups and small technology companies to compete in hiring global talent.

“Specifically, we have heard clearly from technology innovators that the proclamation’s $100,000 annual fee is prohibitively expensive for early-stage employers and small companies, particularly those that have not yet become profitable. It will bar those rapidly scaling American startups from recruiting and retaining critically needed talent, undermining their growth, reducing employment of US citizens by those same employers, and imperiling our nation’s technological leadership and global competitiveness,” the letter read.