Washington: A former Meta employee, Zach Wilson, in a message to American techies, has said that 'now it's their time', in the wake of Donald Trump’s H1B
visa move, which according to him will eliminate 80 per cent of their competition in top tech jobs. Zach Wilson has said that Trump’s administration raising the H1B visa fee to $100,000 will eliminate the competition American job seekers used to face, recalling how 80 per cent of his team in Meta were H1B visa applicants. Wilson said that he used to work in the Data Analytics team where 15 out of 17 colleagues were on H1B visas. There were only two Americans, including him. "When I worked at Meta in 2017, I was on a team of 17 people. 15 of the 17 were on H1B visas. I was one of two Americans on the team, specifically for core growth data engineering. That's $1.5 million in visa fees under the new rules. If you're an American looking to land a big tech role, now is your time because more than 80% of your competition literally just vanished overnight. Good luck," Wilson wrote on X.
What is Donald Trump's H1B Visa Move?
US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that his government had raised the H1B visa fee to a whopping USD 100,000 one-time payment, which US companies will have to pay to the government to hire foreign nationals in highly skilled technology jobs.
The new order will add significant pressure to hiring foreign staff, as $100,000 is a substantial amount for any company to pay.
Initially, it was believed that the visa move would impact existing H1B holders. However, a clarification soon came from the government, stating that the new rule would apply only to new applicants and would not affect existing employees.
The US State Department on Sunday (local time) offered more clarity on President Trump's H-1B visa proclamation, which has triggered panic across the tech industry and among Indian professionals living in America on the visa.
The department debunked several false claims circulating after Trump signed the order last week. The US State Department stressed that the new H-1B rules "do not apply to any previously issued H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 am Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025."
Clarifying further, the State Department said the new fee requirement applies only to individuals or companies filing fresh H-1B petitions or entering the lottery system after September 21. Current visa holders and petitions submitted before that date remain unaffected.
Under the proclamation, a $100,000 payment must accompany every new H-1B visa petition filed after the deadline, including entries in the 2026 lottery. The order also authorises the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to coordinate all necessary measures for implementation.
With inputs from ANI
