'Uncertain time' | HR teams scramble as Trump springs shock $100,000 H-1B visa fee

Wall Street firms and major technology companies were thrown into disarray this weekend after Donald Trump unveiled a $100,000 fee for skilled worker visas, leaving HR leaders racing to understand how staff would be affected.

The sudden proclamation, signed late Friday, applies to H-1B visas that employers rely on to fill specialist roles. Tens of thousands of employees and their families were caught off guard, sparking urgent communications from HR departments at Microsoft, Amazon, and JPMorgan advising staff abroad to return to the US before the rule took effect at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.