Half of U.S. Professionals Say Trump’s H-1B Fee Hike Is Sending Jobs Overseas
Some tech firms already banning H-1B hires, relocating foreign workers
Half of U.S. professionals say the Trump administration's H-1B visa fee hike is pushing companies to expand overseas, not hire more Americans, according to a new survey from Blind, an anonymous workplace platform.
The survey of 1,794 verified U.S. professionals, conducted September 24–October 14, examined reactions to the 100-fold increase in H-1B visa fees. Respondents were split evenly among supporters, opponents, and those neutral toward the administration, and were categorized by visa status: U.S. citizens, green card holders, and H-1B workers.
When asked how businesses would adapt to the fee increase, 50% of respondents said “expanding overseas offices” — more than double those who said “expanding local hiring within the U.S.” (23%) or “leveraging remote global talent” (17%).
The trend held across most political and visa groups. Only among Trump supporters did optimism about domestic hiring outweigh concerns about offshoring: 43% predicted more U.S. jobs, compared with 36% expecting overseas expansion.
When asked how the change would affect H-1B hiring, 40% predicted a decrease—nearly double the 22% who expected no impact. Among those anticipating a reduction, 26% expected a significant decrease, showing a consistent pattern across all political affiliations and visa types.
Nearly all employees outside the biggest tech giants such as Apple and Microsoft said their companies were likely to scale back H-1B hiring under the policy. One employee at a U.S. startup posted on Blind: “I have been asked to fully stop sourcing H-1B resumes. OPT employees are being given the choice of moving to India or Canada. No more H-1B transfers. H-1B extensions at VP approval.”
An Amazon employee wrote: “Google, Microsoft, and Amazon can swallow the cost, but no one is paying six figures just to hire someone. The only winners here are countries that actually want talent. America just taxed itself out of the talent war.”
Opinions were divided on whether the policy would lead to layoffs of existing H-1B workers. While 35% expected no major impact, 30% were unsure, and 28% said companies might reconsider keeping H-1B employees given the higher costs.
The Trump administration implemented a 100-fold H-1B visa fee increase on September 21, raising the annual application fee from $1,000 to $100,000 per worker. The H-1B program allows U.S. companies to employ foreign professionals in fields like technology and engineering. The administration argues the change would protect American workers and reduce reliance on cheaper foreign labor.
Methodology
This survey was conducted on Blind, the anonymous workplace app that verifies users through their work email. Data was collected between September 24 and October 14, 2025, with responses from 1,794 verified employees.
About Blind
Founded in Silicon Valley in 2013, Blind is a verified workplace community platform with the mission of “building sustainable workplace cultures through employee voices.” Over 80% of employees at Meta and Uber use the platform in the U.S., and it has been recognized by TIME as one of the 100 most influential companies in the world. Blind expanded into India earlier this year, where more than half of tech and finance professionals are active users.