President Donald Trump decreased the number of high-skilled migration visas during his first term, but then spoke favorably about such migration before he started his second term. Unfortunately, he has flip-flopped back by imposing a massive new fee for those visas, which will drastically reduce high-skilled migration.

New high-skilled H-1B visas will now cost $100,000. They are currently under a severe annual quota of approximately 85,000, and fees before the change ranged from $2,000 to $5,000. The higher fee, then, will likely result in far fewer visas than allowed even by the quota, which typically attracted four to five times as many applicants as there were visas.

The existing cap was already too restrictive in relation to America’s needs, and the new fee will only exacerbate the issue. The native-born working-age population is shrinking and is projected to continue shrinking as baby boomers retire and birth rates remain low. Workforce growth, which is necessary to support the aging population, will depend largely on increased........

© Eurasia Review