How Will the New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee Hurt the US
By Reuters | 21 Sep, 2025

Expert Kent Kedl explains that the new visa fee, along with the other obstacles being imposed on foreign students and workers, will hurt US competitiveness while helping China in the long run.

Kent Kedl, Blue Ocean Advisors, Founder and managing partner:

"This is a net benefit for China overall. And again, it's been happening for a while. A number of U.S. government initiatives are kind of pushing students and scholars and Chinese scientists out of the U.S…”

“And I think it's a net negative for the U.S., losing all this talent, both education talent, students and scholars, that are coming in. But then also research scientists, who are working particularly in technology, the U.S. is not going to be able to hang on to them. And this isn't just Chinese. I mean, this is all over the place as well. So, yeah, I think you're going to see a long-term impact. It's not going to be something that happens in the next year, but over a number of years, I think you are going to see a negative impact in the U.S. and a net positive for China."

Kedl, managing partner and founder of business consultancy Blue Ocean Advisors, said the policy would have a long-term impact.

The change in policy, which was announced on Friday and took effect on Sunday, is a U-turn from Trump's earlier stance when he sided with one-time ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backed the program for foreign tech workers even though it was opposed by some of his supporters.

In the hours following Trump's proclamation, social media was flooded with debate on the scope of the order and dismay at what many saw as a move that dimmed America's lure as an attractive destination to work in.