Microsoft and JPMorgan have sent urgent messages to their employees with H-1B and H-4 visas after President Trump announced new restrictions on Friday, September 19, 2025.

Microsoft sent an internal email telling visa holders currently outside the US to come back right away. The company said, "We strongly recommend H-1B and H-4 visa holders return to the US tomorrow before the deadline." Microsoft also told these employees to stay in America for now and to avoid traveling abroad.

JPMorgan's immigration lawyers gave similar advice, asking H-1B visa holders to stay in the US and not travel internationally until they get more information, Reuters reported.

Trump's new $100,000 visa fee

These company warnings came after Trump announced on Friday that H-1B visa applications will now cost $100,000. The new fee starts on September 21 and will last for 12 months, though Trump could extend it longer.

Trump said in his announcement that tech companies have been misusing the H-1B visa system. He claimed these companies use the program to replace American workers with cheaper foreign workers instead of adding to the US workforce like the program was supposed to do.

Trump also called the H-1B program a security risk. He said law enforcement has found H-1B companies involved in "visa fraud, conspiracy to launder money and other illegal activities to bring foreign workers to the United States."

The President said charging companies more money will stop these problems while still letting businesses hire the best foreign workers when they really need them, as noted by Hindustan Times.

Impact on Indian workers

The new rules will hit Indian workers especially hard since they make up more than 70% of H-1B visa holders. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the policy will "make sure US companies hire more American workers while sending less valuable foreign workers back home."

Many big tech companies depend heavily on Indian employees who either move to the US permanently or travel back and forth between the two countries regularly.

Trump has been trying to change H-1B rules since his first presidency, though courts blocked some of his earlier attempts. This new order is part of his second-term immigration crackdown and will last one year unless he decides to extend it.