‘Hire and train Americans’: JD Vance defends proposed six-figure H-1B fee

US Vice President JD Vance has backed the Trump administration’s proposal to impose a new $103,265 fee on most new H-1B visa petitions, saying American companies should prioritise hiring and training US workers.Vance shared a US media report on the proposal on X and wrote, “If an American corporation needs workers, it should hire and train Americans.”The proposed fee was announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a filing on Monday. It would apply to all H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, and would be payable when the petition is filed.The proposed charge would be in addition to other applicable H-1B fees and payments.DHS proposes new H-1B feeAccording to the DHS filing, the $103,265 fee would serve as a dedicated revenue mechanism to recover part of the government's costs of administering the lawful immigration system.