By Aditya Soni and Nandita Bose

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump plans to impose a new $100,000 application fee for H-1B worker visas, a White House official said, potentially dealing a big blow to the technology sector that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China.

As part of his broader immigration crackdown, the Republican president was expected to sign a proclamation as early as Friday restricting entry under the H-1B visa program unless the application fee is paid, the official said. 

Reuters was not immediately able to establish details of who the fee would apply to or how it would be administered.

The H-1B program has become a major flashpoint between Trump's conservative base and the tech industry that contributed millions of dollars to his presidential campaign.

Supporters of the program, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, say it brings in highly skilled workers essential to filling talent gaps and keeping firms competitive. Critics, including many U.S. technology workers, argue that it allows firms to suppress wages and sideline Americans who could do the jobs.

Roughly two-thirds of jobs secured through the program are computer-related, according to government figures, but employers also use the visa to bring in engineers, educators and healthcare workers.

In the first half of 2025, Amazon.com ( AMZN ) had more than 10,000 H-1B visas approved, while Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta Platforms ( META ) had over 5,000 H-1B visa approvals each, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp ( CTSH ), an IT services company that relies extensively on H-1B visa holders, as well as U.S.-listed shares of Indian tech firms Infosys and Wipro, fell more than 2% each.

The companies and the Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Under the current system, H-1B applicants pay $215 to enter a lottery and, if selected, subsequent fees that can amount to several thousand dollars depending on the case.

India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved beneficiaries, while China was a distant second at 11.7%, according to government data.

The H-1B visas are approved for a period of three to six years.