Trump’s Immigration Proclamation Sends Shockwaves Through U.S. Business Sector

By. C. Matthew Schulz

On September 19, 2025, President Trump signed a sweeping proclamation that stunned the U.S. technology sector and global economy. The measure imposes a $100,000 fee on new H-1B entries and announced the creation of “Gold” and “Platinum” immigration cards offering fast-track residency options tied to multi-million-dollar payments. Employers, workers, and investors are now scrambling to assess the impact, as industry leaders warn of a chilling effect on America’s competitiveness in attracting global talent.

Official Texts and Announcements

The proclamation and related executive orders can be found directly on the White House website: Proclamation: Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers and Executive Order: The Gold Card. 

The White House also released a fact sheet on the Gold Card program.  Together, these documents outline the administration’s attempt to reshape high-skilled immigration outside of the normal legislative process.

The H-1B $100,000 Fee

The proclamation conditions the entry of new H-1B visa holders on a $100,000 “payment.” While marketed as a national interest restriction under INA §212(f), this measure operates as an unprecedented fee. 

Since the proclamation, the USCIS issued a clarification noting that the payment applies only to new H-1B entries after the proclamation’s effective date, and does not apply retroactively to petitions already filed or approved. The USCIS H-1B FAQ states:

"This Proclamation does not:

• Apply to any previously issued H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sept. 21, 2025.
• Does not change any payments or fees required to be submitted in connection with any H-1B renewals. The fee is a one-time fee on submission of a new H-1B petition.
• Does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa from traveling in and out of the United States."

You can read USCIS’s announcement here: USCIS Clarification on H-1B Fee Proclamation and the H-1B FAQ.

Impact on the Tech Sector

According to The Guardian, on September 19, 2025, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that “major companies had been briefed and were supportive” of the $100,000 fee on H-1B visas. AP News similarly reported: “Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said ‘all big companies’ are on board.” He did not name any names of big companies on board.

Business Insider quotes business leaders like Nvidia's Jensen Huang ("I'm glad to see President Trump making the moves he's making"), ChatGPT's Sam Altman ("aligning financial incentives seems good to me"), and Netflix's Reed Hastings ("great solution") and others reacting to the huge, unexpected fee increase. 

Major media outlets have reported on the shockwaves this has sent through Silicon Valley and beyond. 

However, the Business Insider article also states:

The sudden move has sparked concerns among Big Tech firms like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, whose workers are on H-1B visas. All three companies told their employees on the visa not to leave the US or to quickly return to the country if they were overseas.

Coverage by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Reuters highlights how tech executives fear that instead of creating more jobs for U.S. workers, the proclamation may accelerate the offshoring of technology jobs and encourage entrepreneurs to relocate to Canada, the U.K., or other nations with more stable and predictable immigration regimes. 

Industry experts warn that the U.S. risks undermining its role as the global hub for innovation.

The Rolling Stone reporting was more dire: "Are we witnessing the fall of the American Empire?"

In the meantime, the People's Republic of China announced its new K-Visa to attract STEM talent. Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics aw from US after cuts, Reuters. There is interest from around the world, as can be seen from media reports in The Times of India, the Daily Guradian, and Business Standard, among others.

The Gold and Platinum Immigration Cards

The second half of the proclamation unveiled the administration’s plan for “Gold” and “Platinum” immigration cards. 

The Gold Card is tied to a $1 million personal “gift” or a $2 million corporate investment, promising expedited green card processing. 

The Platinum Card, at $5 million, is described as offering broad residence and tax benefits. 

The White House fact sheet compares these cards to the EB-5 program, but without congressional authorization. 

More details and analysis are available in my recent post: Trump Gold Card Immigration Fact Check: EB-5 Impact 2025.

Legality of Lawmaking by Proclamation

Immigration law grants authority to set filing fees exclusively to the DHS Secretary under the Immigration and Nationality Act §286(m). 

Regulations setting fees must follow the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which requires publication in the Federal Register and generally a 60-day comment period. 

This proclamation disregards those legally required processes.

The Administration in the proclamation attempts to bypass statutory and regulatory legal requirements by imposing what functions as a filing fee through presidential decree. Courts will almost certainly be asked to decide whether this oversteps presidential authority. See AILA: Trump Administration H-1B Crackdown and “Gold Card” Visa Imperil Jobs, Innovation, and Rural Healthcare and Forbes.

The State of California is widely reported as considering a court challenge to the new $100,000 fee because of the negative impact on industry in the state. See MSN, Politico, and SiliconValle.com, among others. And private attorneys are looking for plaintiffs to file suit. See AmericanBazaaronline.

Only Congress can create new immigrant visa categories under the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

The Gold and Platinum cards attempt to create entirely new pathways to permanent residence. Instead of the current limits on lawful immigration, the Administration’s proclamation authorizes unlimited numbers of Gold and Platinum immigrants and their families. 

This is not the first time the Administration has suggested such premium immigration pathways. As early as July 2024, the administration floated the concept in remarks by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and in Bloomberg coverage of a White House event, both of which implied that the Gold Card already existed or would be launched imminently.

While the Administration has repeatedly claimed these cards already exist or would soon be available, there has been no legislation introduced in Congress to establish them. Their rollout rests on extraordinarily shaky legal ground.

For a more detailed discussion, see my earlier article.

Unusual Role of the Commerce Secretary

Observers have also noted how unusual it is that the Secretary of Commerce has been the public face of this immigration initiative, while the Secretary of Homeland Security has been largely absent. 

Immigration law is firmly within the jurisdiction of DHS, USCIS, and the Department of State. 

The Commerce Department’s lead role raises questions about internal divisions within the Administration and the long-term viability of these initiatives.

H-1B Outcry vs. Reality: Why the Numbers Don’t Support the Demonization of Employers

Every election season, the H-1B visa program is dragged back into the spotlight, accused of displacing U.S. workers and damaging the economy. But the facts tell a very different story. 

U.S. law limits the number of new H-1Bs to 85,000 visas per year (with limited exceptions for government and universities. Compare that to the nearly 68 million Americans working in management, professional, and related jobs (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics), the very fields that Congress defined as "specialty occupations." H-1Bs represent only about 0.1% of the U.S. professional workforce.

Comparison of Workforce Size vs. H-1B Cap

This simple comparison shows how small the H-1B program is relative to the scale of the U.S. workforce in specialty occupations.

Just as important, the unemployment rate for these occupations remains consistently low, often far below the national average of 4.3% (August 2025) (BLS Employment Situation Report). Lawyers, doctors, accountants, teachers, engineers, software developers, and financial analysts all show unemployment rates in the range of 1–3%, essentially full employment. 

For example, BLS reports about 1.7 million software developers nationwide with unemployment rates around 2%, and 1.4 million accountants and auditors with unemployment near 2–3%. Even high school teachers, with over 1 million positions, face shortages rather than surpluses. 

These are not industries swamped by excess labor. They are sectors struggling to find enough qualified talent.

So why the continuing demonization of employers who hire H-1B workers? 

The truth is that the U.S. already has strong protections in place. 

The Department of Labor requires attestations on wages and working conditions. USCIS applies a detailed specialty occupation test defined at INA §214(i) and 8 C.F.R. §214.2(h). ICE investigates fraud and abuse. Employers who underpay H-1B workers or replace U.S. workers face penalties under existing law. 

The problem is not a lack of legal tools—it’s the lack of consistent enforcement and oversight.

Instead of chasing headlines with new laws and presidential proclamations, policymakers would do better to focus on enforcing the laws already on the books. The data show that H-1B workers are not displacing Americans on a large scale. H-1B workers are filling critical gaps in a labor market where demand for specialized skills far outpaces supply. If the U.S. is serious about competing for global talent, the government should stop vilifying the very program designed to bring that talent here.

Conclusion: The Need for Legal Process and Predictability

America’s immigration laws have always depended on clear statutory authority and formal rulemaking processes. Proclamations that impose massive fees or invent new visa categories create market disruption, legal uncertainty, and economic instability. 

Whether the courts invalidate these measures quickly or they linger through litigation, the damage to America’s reputation as a stable and predictable place to build companies and careers is already being felt. 

Following the lawfully mandated processes for creating new immigration rules is not just a legal requirement—it is essential to maintain the confidence of businesses, workers, and investors who drive U.S. innovation and economic growth.