The fee for the H-1B visa was hiked from a few thousand dollars to $100,000 — effectively making it a far more difficult path to justify or simply cost-prohibitive for some employers. Since 1990, the H-1B visa has been the pathway for thousands of South Asian Americans, particularly from India, to build a life in the United States. Some employers told current H-1B employees traveling abroad to rush back to the United States within 24 hours. As the United States continues to face a growing doctor and nurse shortage, this could add salt to that wound, too. Early in the second Trump presidency, the debate over the value of skilled immigration caused fractures, with MAGA hardliners pitted against other MAGA supporters like Elon Musk, a former H-1B visa holder himself.