H‑1B visa fee hike impact? US largest private employer Walmart pauses job offers for work visa candidates

H-1B visa fee hike: The United States' largest private employer, Walmart Inc, has halted offers to candidates requiring H-1B visas, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, 22 October, citing people aware of the development. This is the most recent incident highlighting how the US administration’s $100,000 H-1B visa fees have impacted the workforce.

The current guideline mainly affects Walmart’s corporate staff, the report said. The latest development comes after US President Donald Trump imposed a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications last month, a move reportedly aimed to overhaul the visa programme and curb overuse.

Based on government data, Walmart is the largest employer of H-1B visa holders among major retail chains, with approximately 2,390 such employees, based on government data. This number is a small part of its overall US workforce of roughly 1.6 million.

Despite being a major employer of H-1B recipients, the retail giant employs fewer than Amazon.com, Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, and other tech companies that depend heavily on the visas.

“Walmart is committed to hiring and investing in the best talent to serve our customers, while remaining thoughtful about our H-1B hiring approach,” a Walmart spokeswoman told the news portal.

About H-1B visa programme

The H-1B programme grants 65,000 visas each year to employers hiring temporary foreign workers in specialised fields, along with an additional 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees.

Clarification on H-1B visa fee hike

The US administration recently released guidance exempting existing visa holders from the fee when they change their status. This means some immigrants, including those on current student visas, would not have to pay the fee. However, Walmart and other employers still need to make the $100,000 payment for workers they want to hire under the H-1B programme who are not yet legally allowed to work in the US.

What will be the impact of H-1B visa fee hike?

“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the US,” the report quoted Neil Bradley, executive vice president of the Chamber of Commerce's statement. The body is the United States' largest business lobbying group that sued the Trump administration this month for visa system changes.

The White House responded that the visa changes are legal and represent an “incremental step towards necessary reforms to the H-1B program.”

Critics argue that the programme, launched in 1990 to fill particular labour shortages, undermines employment opportunities for skilled US workers. Currently, its use is mainly by the tech industry, which cites a lack of professionals in science, math, and computer fields. Universities and hospitals also depend on these visas to hire researchers and lecturers.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)