On Friday, US President Donald Trump's announcement imposing a new $US100,000 ($151,000) fee for skilled technology worker visas created panic.
His proclamation meant the fee would apply to H-1B visas, which are meant for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find hard to fill, from Sunday, local time.
It prompted major technology companies like Microsoft, JPMorgan and Amazon to fire off warnings to their employees on the visa to stay in the country — or quickly return to the US.
A day later, the White House clarified the fee wouldn't apply to workers who already held a visa — only new applicants would be affected.
Here's a recap of the new rules, who it affects and what the reaction has been.
Trump announces new visa fee
Mr Trump, flanked by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, signed a proclamation that would require a new $US100,000 fee for H-1B visas.
That's a massive increase from the previous fee, which was just $US215.
The order said the fee would take effect at 12:01am Sunday, local time.
It is scheduled to expire after a year, but could be extended if the government determines that is in the interest of the United States.
On Friday, Mr Lutnick told reporters the fee would be an annual cost for companies.
But on Saturday, a White House official said it was a "one-time fee" — that's according to an official who was not authorised to comment publicly about the matter and spoke to news syndicate agency Associated Press (AP) on the condition of anonymity.
When asked if Lutnick's comments sowed confusion, the official told AP the new fee "currently does not apply to renewals but that policy is under discussion".
Panic among companies
Microsoft, JPMorgan and Amazon responded to the announcement by advising employees holding H-1B visas to remain in the United States, according to internal emails reviewed by Reuters.
They advised employees on the H-1B visas who were outside the US to return before midnight on Saturday, local time, when the new fee structures were set to take effect.
"H-1B visa holders who are currently in the US should remain in the US and avoid international travel until the government issues clear travel guidance," read an email sent to JPMorgan employees by Ogletree Deakins, a company that handles visa applications for the US investment bank.
Currently, more than 70 per cent of H-1B visa holders are from India.
On Saturday, India's government expressed concern the fee increase would dramatically raise the fee for visas that bring tech workers from there and other countries to the US.
India's Ministry of External Affairs said Mr Trump's plan "was being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry?.
The ministry warned that "this measure is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families".
"Government hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities,? it said.
White House clarification
"Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a posting on X.
"This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders."
The White House, in a social media post, also sought to make clear the new rule "does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to/from the U.S."
But immigration attorneys said that the White House move threatened to upend the lives of many skilled workers and have a far-reaching impact on American business.
Kathleen Campbell Walker, an immigration attorney with Dickinson Wright based in El Paso, Texas, said in a posting on LinkedIn that the White House move "inserts total chaos in existing H-1B process with basically a day's notice".
Visas doled out by lottery
Historically, H-1B visas have been doled out through lottery.
This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient of H-1B visas, with more than 10,000 awarded, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple and Google.
Geographically, California has the highest number of H-1B workers.
H-1B critics say visa undercuts American workers
H-1B visas, which require at least a bachelor's degree, are meant for high-skilled jobs.
Critics say the program undercuts American workers, luring people from overseas who are often willing to work for as little as $US60,000 annually.
That is well below the $US100,000-plus salaries typically paid to US technology workers.
Critics say H-1B spots often go to entry-level jobs, rather than senior positions with unique skill requirements.
And while the program isn't supposed to undercut US wages or displace US workers, critics say companies can pay less by classifying jobs at the lowest skill levels, even if the specific workers hired have more experience.
As a result, many US companies find it cheaper to contract out help desks, programming and other basic tasks to consulting companies such as Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tata in India and IBM and Cognizant in the US.
These consulting companies hire foreign workers, often from India, and contract them out to US employers looking to save money.
Mr Lutnick said the change would likely result in far fewer H-1B visas than the 85,000 annual cap allowed because "it's just not economic anymore".
"If you're going to train people, you're going to train Americans," he said.
"If you have a very sophisticated engineer and you want to bring them in … then you can pay $100,000 a year for your H-1B visa."
Advocacy group US Tech Workers called it "the next best thing" to abolishing the visas altogether.
How has big tech reacted?
When announcing the change on Friday, Mr Trump insisted the tech industry would not oppose the move.
And Mr Lutnick claimed "all big companies" were on board.
Representatives for the biggest tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta, did not immediately respond to messages for comment.
Microsoft declined to comment.
"We're concerned about the impact on employees, their families and American employers," the US Chamber of Commerce said.
"We're working with the Administration and our members to understand the full implications and the best path forward."
Doug Rand, who was a senior official at US Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, said the proposed fee increase was "ludicrously lawless".
"This isn't real policy — it's fan service for immigration restrictionists," Rand said.
"Trump gets his headlines, and inflicts a jolt of panic, and doesn't care whether this survives first contact with the courts."
Immigration overhaul includes new 'gold card'
Mr Trump also announced he would start selling a "gold card" visa with a path to US citizenship for $US1 million after vetting.
For companies, it will cost $US2 million to sponsor an employee.
But that's not the only card Mr Trump's offering.
Called the "Trump Platinum Card", Mr Trump is proposing a visa that costs $US5 million and allows foreigners to spend up to 270 days in the US without being subject to US taxes on non-US income.
Mr Trump announced a $US5 million gold card in February to replace an existing investor visa — this is now the platinum card.
Mr Lutnick said the gold and platinum cards would replace employment-based visas that offered paths to citizenship, including for professors, scientists, artists and athletes.
He said the H-1B fees and gold card could be introduced by the president but the platinum card needed congressional approval.
ABC/wires
