Trump’s new $100K visa fee for foreign workers could impact Florida universities

An astronomical hike on visa fees for highly-skilled workers will impact an important industry in Florida: higher education.

When Donald Trump announced last week that applying for an H-1B visa would now cost $100,000, much of the focus was on the tech industry, which heavily relies on this category of foreign workers.

But federal data shows that in Florida, universities, colleges and schools in the state employ thousands of workers on H-1B visas. That includes professors, researchers and staff.

A Miami Herald analysis of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data found that in the last five years, Florida universities and schools have had 2,589 workers with H-1B visas in the educational services category.

One-quarter of them are from the University of Florida, and 13 percent are University of Miami employees. Other top sponsors include Florida State University (236), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (217); University of South Florida (207); and Florida International University (111).

That tally excludes renewals, job changes, petitions involving multiple employers and other circumstances. When those categories are factored in, the number of approvals for H-1B visas in the educational services category in Florida jumps to 4,709 in the same time period.

“Universities will most certainly take a hit from this policy change,” said Bruce Baker, a University of Miami professor who studies education policy and funding.

One international student enrolled at FIU from India who studies business analytics, said the fee increase will likely prevent him from working in the United States after graduation. He’s on a student visa right now, but like many other foreign-born students, he hopes to explore work opportunities here after graduation. Even before the new fees, only a limited number of employers would hire student visa holders. The new application costs are another hurdle amid an already challenging job market.

“It’s ten times the price, it’s absolutely mind-blowing,” said the third-year student. The visas have historically cost between $2,000 and $5,000 in fees paid to the U.S. government. In addition, companies often have to pay lawyers to process the applications.

Many international students who come to the United States to study count on transitioning from their student visa and Optional Practical Training (OPT) to an H-1B visa status. Critics of the fee increase say that this change could deter international students from enrolling in universities in the United States if their plans included seeking employment here after graduation.

The student told the Miami Herald the fee increase is already discouraging foreign students from making plans to stay in the U.S. He has two friends, one from Pakistan and the other from India, who left the United States for their home countries. “They just couldn’t take it,” he said of the constantly changing laws and rhetoric around immigration. He said he believes this change will devastate universities.

The University of Florida, Florida International University, and the University of Miami did not respond to Miami Herald requests for comments about how the new visa application fees could impact their staffing, hiring or international student enrollment.

Several middle and high schools in South Florida, including in Aventura, Hialeah and Miami, also have H-1B holders among their employees.

White House points to ‘systemic abuse of the program’

During a press conference last week, Trump said this change will provide an incentive to companies to hire American workers.

But the original intention of the H-1B visa category, which Congress created during President George H.W Bush’s administration, was to address worker shortages by bringing in highly-skilled foreign workers. To qualify, the applicant must generally hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and perform a job that requires specialized knowledge. There are also separate H-1B categories for Department of Defense workers and for models, which requires the person to be “of prominence” in the fashion world, according to USCIS. First Lady Melania Trump, a former model, was an H-1B worker in the late ‘90s.

Under the law, only 65,000 new visas are awarded every year. Another 20,000 visas are awarded to people with master’s degrees or higher in the U.S. under a special exemption. And H-1B workers who are petitioned for or employed at an institution of higher learning or nonprofits or governmental entities involved in research are not subject to this cap.

Trump acknowledged that there are instances where companies do need specific skilled international labor. In those instances, he said, the company should pay the higher fee to bring them in. The executive order became active on Sept. 21, and does not apply to people with previously issued H-1B visas or petitions submitted prior to that date.

The Department of Labor is also opening investigations into companies the agency says are abusing the system.

“The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security,” reads a proclamation from the White House.

“Stop the nonsense of letting people just come into this country on these visas that were given away for free,” said Howard Lutnick, United States Secretary of Commerce, at the press conference.

Homeland Security is also proposing a change so the lottery to select H-1B visa holders favors applicants who earn higher wages.

Juan Gomez, law professor and director of the Carlos A. Costa Immigration Human Rights Clinic at FIU, called President Trump’s move self-destructive for the country.

“They didn’t go through Congress, they just basically erased it without legislating,” he said.

But some immigrants rights groups recognize that H-1B visas have been problematic in many ways. Rene Gomez, the civic engagement coordinator with the Farmworkers Association of Florida, said many workers who receive H-1B visas are mistreated by their employers through harassment, wage theft, and safety concerns, which are difficult to report because of their immigration status.

“The focus and priority should be on fixing the broken system we have now,” said Rene Gomez.

Staff writer Ana Claudia Chacin contributed to this story.

This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 11:47 AM.