housands of UK genset specialists and energy professionals working in the States are being affected by President Trump’s latest initiative - a US$100,000 (£74,000) fee for specialist US visas.
Exactly 1,462 British nationals received H-1B visas last year according to statistics from the US state department – more than any other country in Europe – and 985 Britons received them in the first eight months of the Visa Office’s current fiscal year.
The news comes alongside suggestions that Sir Keir Starmer is exploring plans to eliminate visa fees for leading scientists, software developers and academics in an effort to capitalise on Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The Prime Minister’s global talent taskforce is said to be examining the move as a potential economy-boosting measure ahead of November 2025’s Budget.
The punitive visa charge by the US is designed to encourage companies to hire more American staff but it has prompted vocal opposition from Silicon Valley. Shabana Mahmood, the UK Home Secretary, has been urged to respond by making it easier for tech workers to come to Britain.
The Startup Coalition said the UK had an unprecedented opportunity to capitalise on the change, calling for expansion of the British Global Talent visa and changes to how share award packages are taxed. “The UK must position itself as the destination of choice,” Dom Hallas, the tech group’s executive director, said.
Britain is the ninth-biggest source of H-1B visa holders. India accounts for more than two thirds of recipients, followed by China, Brazil, the Philippines, South Korea, Pakistan, Taiwan and Mexico.
Announcing the $100,000 fee last month , Howard Lutnick, Mr Trump’s commerce secretary, said it would be annual and also required when people renew their visa. However, the White House later said it would only be payable once when the visa is first granted. Regardless, economists at Berenberg said the fee would hit US economic growth.
“Deportation efforts, attempts to strip work permits from existing employees and a hostile environment for foreign workers have already caused labour force growth in the US to nearly flatline,” comments Atakan Bakiskan, an economist at Berenberg.
“With the new H-1B policy, the labour force is more likely to shrink than expand going forward. The future of economic growth now depends almost exclusively on productivity gains. However, by making it very expensive for companies to attract foreign talent and by forcing some international students to leave the country after graduation, the brain drain will weigh heavily on productivity.”
At a briefing in the White House in August, Howard Lutnick , the US commerce secretary, urged companies to take on domestic university graduates: “Either the person is very valuable to the company and America, or they are going to depart and the company is going to hire an American,” he said.
“That’s the point of immigration. Hire Americans and make sure the people coming in are the top, top people. Stop the nonsense.”
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