The Trump administration said on Friday it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B visas. Trump, a Republican, sought to reshape the H-1B process during his 2017-2021 presidency, but was stymied by federal courts and limited time at the end of his presidency. An estimated 5,200 small businesses that currently receive H-1B visas would suffer a significant economic impact due to the loss of labour, DHS said. The programme’s supporters include Elon Musk, a naturalised US citizen born in South Africa, who has himself held an H-1B visa. India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71 per cent of the approved beneficiaries, while China was a distant second at 11.7pc, according to government data.