President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 fee for first-time H-1B visa applicants on Sept. 19.
“The H-1B visa program has made it even more challenging for college graduates trying to find information technology jobs, allowing employers to hire foreign workers at a significant discount to American workers,” Trump wrote in his Friday proclamation.
A total of 1,287 international students held F-1 visas at De Anza College in the 2024 fall quarter alone; after graduating, F-1 holders need a work visa to continue legally staying in the United States – most will opt for the H-1B visa, a designated program for skilled foreign workers like college graduates.
Inky Ganbold, 23, computer science major from Mongolia, said that while he is grateful for his education at De Anza, the new visa fee makes his future uncertain.
“I want to repay my appreciation to the country,” Ganbold said .“If there’s no chance I can get an H-1B … I would definitely go back to my country.”
Many large tech companies with operations in Silicon Valley, such as Google, accounted for 1.4% of all applicants approved in the 2023 fiscal year, according to the Pew Research Center. The computer science field accounts for nearly 64.9% of all H-1B visa workers.
Debbie Lee, dean of intercultural and international studies, said international students and workers bring different perspectives that enrich U.S. industries.
“We’re probably going to lose out on that with such a prohibitive cost being put on those visas,” Lee said.
As De Anza students have previously faced proposed budget cuts from the Trump administration, this executive order could further alter the school budget, said Melissa Aguilar, co-director of the Student Success Center, noting that 10% of the college’s revenue comes from fees paid by international students.
“Now that those students aren’t coming, we (the college) are going to have less funding for everybody,” Aguilar said. “If now the companies are going to be forced to pay $100,000 (per person), those fewer opportunities for students.”
