Trump came for the H-1B visa. We spent a year reporting on the fallout.

Immigration policies are changing at breakneck speed. For people chasing the American dream through the coveted H-1B visa, it has meant a year of chaos. In September 2025, the Trump administration introduced a $100,000 fee for certain new H-1B petitions, triggering a yearlong fallout that has seen the administration make and propose more changes touching multiple rungs of the immigration ladder, from student visas to green card sponsorships. In a statement last month, a White House spokesperson said the H-1B fee was intended to focus sponsorship on "truly highly specialized temporary labor." A USCIS spokesperson said the agency's goal is to ensure employment-based visa programs "supplement, not supplant American workers." Over the past year, Business Insider has spoken to more than two dozen H-1B visa holders and hopefuls. Our reporting zoomed in on individual lives, observing how the visa system has affected foreign nationals' careers and families.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.