American companies laid off over 40,000 US tech workers, replaced them with H-1B visa holders: White House

As Donald Trump announced the $10,000 H-1B fee, the White House flagged concerns over the visa programme, saying several American companies have laid off US tech workers while replacing them with foreign employees.

The White House said in a fact sheet that one company received 5,189 H-1B approvals while laying off 16,000 US workers, and another got 1,698 approvals but cut 2,400 jobs in Oregon.

“One company was approved for 5,189 H-1B workers in FY 2025, while laying off roughly 16,000 US employees this year. Another company was approved for 1,698 H-1B workers in FY 2025, yet announced layoffs of 2,400 US workers in Oregon in July,” the White House said in a statement labelled factsheets.

The White House also added that a third company cut 27,000 US jobs since 2022 despite 25,075 H-1B approvals, while another laid off 1,000 Americans, with some forced to train their foreign replacements.

“A third company has reduced its U.S. workforce by 27,000 since 2022 while receiving 25,075 H-1B approvals. Yet another company reportedly cut 1,000 American jobs in February despite receiving 1,137 H-1B approvals for FY 2025. American IT workers have even been reportedly forced to train their foreign replacements under nondisclosure agreements,” the statement reads.

The White House statement, dubbed a fact sheet, said the H-1B programme is discouraging future American workers from pursuing STEM careers, threatening national security.

“President Trump is imposing higher costs on companies seeking to use the H-1B program in order to address the abuse of the program, stop the undercutting of wages, and protect our national security,” it added.

The Trump administration has clarified that the new USD 100,000 fee for H-1B visas is a one-time payment applicable only to new petitions, offering significant relief to thousands of professionals currently working in the US, including many from India.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in a statement on Saturday that President Trump’s H-1B visa requirement “applies only to new, prospective petitions that have not yet been filed.”

H-1B petitions submitted before the effective proclamation date of September 21 are not affected, and current visa holders outside the US do not need to pay the fee to re-enter the country.

A White House official told PTI, “It only applies to new visas, not renewals or current visa holders. It will first apply in the upcoming lottery cycle. It does not apply to 2025 lottery winners.”