Communication is not exactly Trump’s strong point. And I have some math lessons for Trump.
 

H-1B Visa Fee Mass Confusion

On Friday, the White House announced a Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers.

Reuters commented Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas, in blow to tech:

The Trump administration said on Friday it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas, prompting some big tech companies to warn visa holders to stay in the U.S. or quickly return.

The change could deal a big blow to the technology sector that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China.

“If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land,” said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs.”

Trump’s threat to crack down on H-1B visas has become a major flashpoint with the tech industry, which contributed millions of dollars to his presidential campaign.

Microsoft, JPMorgan and Amazon responded to the announcement by advising employees holding H-1B visas to remain in the United States

“H-1B visa holders who are currently in the U.S. should remain in the U.S. and avoid international travel until the government issues clear travel guidance,” read an email sent to JPMorgan employees by Ogletree Deakins, a company that handles visa applications for the U.S. investment bank.

Mad Scramble

Please note Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee Sets Off Scramble Across Corporate America:

The announcement on Friday that the Trump administration planned to add a new $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday caught companies and employees off guard, spurring a furious scramble.

Amazon, Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and others warned H-1B holders not to leave the country and urged employees overseas on the visa to get back to the U.S. on Saturday because it could be difficult to re-enter, according to notes sent to staff reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with their contents. Companies worried they could be on the hook for enormous fee payments given how many of their employees use such visas.

Human-resources staffers divided up lists of workers and tried to determine employees’ locations so they could help them book flights, if needed. Immigration lawyers, meanwhile, sent bulletins to companies and visa holders and tried to address concerns—but often found themselves with few answers.

Attempting to calm the escalating panic, the White House on Saturday said the changes don’t apply to current visa holders, and that the new policy doesn’t affect their ability to travel to and from the U.S. The $100,000 is a one-time fee, not an annual fee, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

The clarification capped an extraordinary 24-hour period.

The proclamation “came with no notice or even a hint that something like this was coming,” said Shanon R. Stevenson, co-chair of the immigration practice group at law firm Fisher Phillips, who spent much of Saturday fielding calls and emails from clients in fields ranging from healthcare to manufacturing. “It’s been obviously very devastating.”

Many employers were still digesting the announcement when the White House issued its clarification. By then, companies had already set new plans in motion and many workers had upended travel plans.

Posts across social media attested to travel chaos, with people describing being pulled from meetings and immediately sent to the airport. Some travelers were trying to connect through Abu Dhabi, where they can pass through U.S. immigration before arriving in America. Others said they were canceling trips out of the U.S.

“They’re truly in scramble mode,” said Nolan Church, the former head of talent at DoorDash and chief people officer at Carta, who said text threads flashed all night from executives at other companies. 

When the president announced the move in the Oval Office, he and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said companies would support the change. “All of the big companies are on board,” Lutnick said.

When asked if the policy would apply to existing holders, Lutnick appeared to say yes. “Renewals, first time: the company needs to decide…Is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000 a year payment to the government? Or they should head home and go hire an American?” he said.

$1 Million Gold Card

The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Adds $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee and Rolls Out $1 Million ‘Gold Card’:

President Trump announced a move to dramatically reshape the nation’s immigration system, attaching hefty new fees to H-1B visas and rolling out a “gold card” for those willing to pay $1 million to secure U.S. residency.

A new $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications is intended to crack down on a system the Trump administration says has been used by tech companies to avoid hiring American workers.

An executive order signed by Trump on Friday rolls out a gold card available to people who pay $1 million to the U.S. Treasury. Corporations can sponsor an individual for $2 million. The visas are expedited, and the Department of Homeland Security will still vet the individuals, which will cost applicants $15,000. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that this visa will replace other similar employment-based paths to permanent residency programs within a month.

The new gold card would use existing green card categories known as EB-1 and EB-2, which people can qualify for if the government determines they have “extraordinary ability” in their fields. Lutnick said 80,000 of these visas would be available, down from 140,000 employment-based visas that are annually awarded now. He said other employment-based visa categories would be suspended in order for the new system to work.

“We’ll be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said. “We’re going to take that money and we’re going to reduce taxes, we’re going to reduce debt.”

The goal of implementing the higher fees, Lutnick said, was to make sure corporations “hire Americans and make sure the people that come into the country are top, top people.”

H-1B fees are typically paid for by employers sponsoring visa applicants. It currently costs $215 to enter an applicant into the lottery, and more than $5,000 in fees to file a visa application—without factoring in lawyers’ fees.

The administration is also exploring a “platinum card” program, for a $5 million fee, which would allow an individual to live in the country for up to 270 days a year without being subject to tax on non-U. S. income. Congress would need to approve the program.

“Tech companies are on board, we’ve spoken to them,” Lutnick said of Friday’s moves. 

There are roughly 700,000 people on H-1B visas currently living in the U.S., according to a National Foundation of American Policy analysis of government data. Many of those have been living in the country for more than a decade, waiting in a yearslong backlog for a green card.

Three Lies of the Day

• “We’ll be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said.
• “Tech companies are on board, we’ve spoken to them,” Lutnick said
• “We’re going to take that money and we’re going to reduce taxes, we’re going to reduce debt,” said Trump.

Math Lesson #1 for Trump

The $100,000 card is one-time. Lutnick said there would be 80,000 of these new visas, and they do not apply to existing visa holders.

80,000 * $100,000 = $8 billion, not hundreds of billions.

Math Lesson #2 for Trump

You cannot pay down debt while running massive deficits.

Lutnick’s Transparent Lie

Corporations are not on board with this announcement. And Lutnick did not even know what the plan was.

It’s likely Trump did not even understand his own plan based on the confusion and clarifications after the damage was already done.

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Trumpian Magic

Trump magically turns $8 billion into “hundreds of billions,” and then uses that to “reduce taxes, and reduce debt.”

Other than cultists, does anyone believe this horsehockey?
 

(Click on image to enlarge)

Gold Surges Above $3,600 to New Record High Despite a Rising Dollar

On September 2, 2025, I noted Gold Surges Above $3,600 to New Record High Despite a Rising Dollar.

A Word About Faith

Gold does not believe the Fed is under control, Congress is under control, budget deficits are under control, and Trump is under control.

And neither do I.

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