How Trump is constructing a new border wall

Hiking of visa price will keep out immigrant talent, erecting a new wall around the US

- Michael Brian Lee

The price of a US H-1B visa is now $100 000, a steep increase from the previous cost of $3000 to $5000. President Donald Trump said he would end inflation, it would be the lowest inflation in history, no inflation would ever be as beautifully low. Oops! Not for every product, apparently.

The message is clear, newly re-engraved on New York Harbor’s Statue of Frivolity: “Give us your rich, your wealthy, your vibrant corporate executives with lawyers in their back pockets, your finance magicians, your modern pre-approved aristocrats, your one-percenters, your magnates yearning to expand their empires, your venture capitalists showered up from their teambuilding exercises, your gold-plated rococo dreamers and schemers, with full pockets and trust funds and signed contracts ...”

I could go on. The point is, in America today, the lamp no longer burns for the weary. It blazes for those who can pay for the electricity—and a lot of it.

The H-1B programme has always been a bit of a paradox — one hand open for global talent diversity, the other a pounding fist that shuts out those who don’t qualify. But when every company could afford it, it seemed fairer.

It was never meant to be a velvet rope for millionaires. It was designed in 1990 to let companies bring in “specialty occupation” talent — engineers, researchers, doctors, professors — the people who helped build Silicon Valley's backbone.

For decades, the costs were modest — a few thousand dollars in filing fees, legal costs and paperwork. Even universities, NGOs and small companies could afford to sponsor foreign talent. The idea was, if you had skills America needed, you could get in.

The programme issued 20000 visas in its first year. By 2022, the number had quadrupled. Around 70% went to tech and research roles. These aren’t yacht owners; they’re the people keeping the labs, startups and hospitals running.

So, what will happen now?