Experts say that the Trump administration’s decision to sharply increase the cost of a visa program for skilled foreign workers used by several local companies could negatively impact employers and the broader economy in Columbus.

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that adds a $100,000 fee to H-1B visa petitions. The new fee — which the administration says only applies to new applications filed after Sept. 21 and does not affect current visa holders or renewals — took effect on Sunday.

The H-1B visa program allows U.S. companies to temporarily hire foreign professionals for roles that require highly specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

It is intended to address critical labor shortages by allowing companies to hire qualified workers they cannot otherwise find in the U.S. workforce. Critics — including those at the White House — contend that it allows employers to undercut U.S. workers by hiring foreign professionals willing to work for less.

Several local employers — including Cummins Inc., LER TechForce, Toyota Material Handling, Columbus Regional Health, among others — have sponsored H-1B visas for workers over the years, according to federal records.

Experts say that the new fee could force local employers to rethink whether to sponsor H-1B visas, potentially curbing the number of visas sought despite labor shortages in several high-need areas such as engineering and an aging workforce.

As a result, the new fee may accelerate a shift toward offshoring, as companies weigh leaving foreign employees in their home countries to work remotely rather than bringing them to Columbus.

“You’re adding significantly to the cost of the company, and they’re going to have to look at and decide whether or not they do that,” said Steven Mohler, assistant professor of management at IU Columbus. “That may put some constraint on the number of H-1Bs that our employers in Columbus (sponsor). …It may further move companies towards that idea of remote work. So, workers … that they would have brought in on a visa, they may say … ‘You’re going to stay in your home country and do it remotely.’”

“I don’t think (companies) are displacing (U.S. workers), I think we’re supplementing and bringing the best and the brightest throughout the world (to Columbus),” Mohler added.

Mohler said that the higher fee is also likely to ripple through the broader labor market by intensifying competition for U.S. workers with advanced degrees in shortage areas. Over time, employees will recognize that new hires effectively cost more — and they’ll want a share of that.

“If the cost for an H-1B goes up from $5,000 to $100,000, there’s going to be more competition for the (people with) bachelor’s (degrees) and above in those fields in the U.S., which results in limited supply and higher demand, which means price increases,” Mohler said. “You may have to pay those people more, and that’s going to negatively impact the companies. …Short-term, you keep the people you have. Unless the people you have look and say, ‘Hey, anybody new you’re bringing in, you’re going to pay $100,000 more. Why don’t you give me that?’”

Understanding implications

The move by the Trump administration spurred chaos and confusion over the weekend, as companies scrambled to figure out how their employees would be affected.

Cummins Inc., the largest employer in Columbus, told The Republic that it is working to understand the president’s proclamation and how it may impact its business.

“We are working through the proclamation to understand exact implications to our business,” Cummins said in a statement to The Republic. “Like many American companies, we rely on and benefit from access to a foreign workforce to address employment gaps, drive growth and foster innovation. Immigration fuels progress by bringing diverse skills and experiences while enabling a global talent exchange. We advocate for a functional immigration system that supports economic growth and reliable access to global talent.”

Cummins has been a vocal supporter of the H-1B visa program in the past. The company previously expressed opposition to an order during the first Trump administration that suspended and limited several temporary visas, including H-1B visas, through the end of 2020.

“This is bad for businesses and hurts many employees at American businesses who were educated at American universities,” Cummins said previously in a statement about the 2020 order. “These actions also hinder our ability to provide top employees the ability to grow and develop and to move across our company. Cummins employs a significant number of H-1B and (other) visa holders and the majority of these individuals are engineers who are key to our success.”

CRH said hospitals and health systems generally use H-1B visas less frequently than other industries, but “the program is a vital resource for attracting qualified candidates for challenging and specialized roles within the healthcare sector.”

“The increased fees represent yet another instance of government intervention, imposing additional and disproportionate costs on healthcare,” said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue. “…The visa program is integral in CRH’s ability to attract and retain talent. We will continue to use the H-1B visas as a tool to help us recruit the most qualified candidates in these hard-to-fill positions. However, this is an extreme escalation in cost for our organization to absorb.”

H-1B visas in Columbus

Overall, at least 10 employers with operations in Columbus received approvals for 230 H-1B visas from Oct. 1 to June 30, according to records with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS.

That includes 179 for Cummins, 30 for LER TechForce, eight for Toyota Material Handling, six for LHP Engineering Solutions, three for CRH, among other employers, according to USCIS. However, not all of those visa recipients may be working in Columbus, as some local employers have offices elsewhere in Indiana and in other states.

From Jan. 1 to June 30, the U.S. Department of Labor certified 550 labor condition applications from about 60 companies seeking H-1B visas to fill jobs in Columbus. Certification is a required step in the H-1B process and means the agency determined that hiring the foreign workers would not negatively impact wages or working conditions for U.S. employees.

The Labor Department releases some certification data publicly, including employers, job titles, wages and worksite locations. Of the applications that listed a Columbus address as the employee’s worksite, 365 were tied to Cummins Inc., 32 to LER TechForce, 30 to KPIT Technologies Inc., 13 to Toyota Material Handling, three to Columbus Regional Health and two to Bartholomew County REMC.

Indian outsourcing giants Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys also received certifications for 24 workers in Columbus from Jan. 1 to June 30.

Some of the roles included senior engineer, software engineer, electronic systems engineer, thermal and fluid systems technical specialist, architect, internal medicine hospitalist, IT manager, calibration engineer, combustion and emissions systems engineer, among others.

Overall, the median salary among all 550 positions was $92,230. A total of 152 of the positions pay more than $100,000 per year. The statutory basis for 38 of those certifications were that the role paid more $60,000 and that the employee had a master’s degree or higher in a related specialty.

Broader implications

Beyond the potential direct impact to local employers, the new $100,000 fee could pose broader risks to Bartholomew County’s economy, including population and gross domestic product (GDP) growth, experts said.

Data released this year by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that skilled foreign workers have largely driven population growth in Bartholomew County in recent years. Without them, the county’s population would have likely declined.

From July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, net international migration — the number of people moving into Bartholomew County from outside the U.S. minus the number of people leaving — was 816. Over the same period, net domestic migration was -430.

From April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2024, net international migration was 2,713, while net domestic migration was -744. Natural population growth — the number of births minus the number of deaths — was 522.

Bartholomew County’s foreign-born population tends to be more highly educated and have higher incomes than the county’s U.S.-born population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

An increase in offshoring of roles that were previously located in Columbus will likely result in reduced tax revenue for local governments, less foot-traffic at local businesses and fewer people seeking to buy homes “because we’re giving up what would have been employees here for remote work because of the $100,000 H-1B visa cost.”

“I think you’re going to find most economists are genuinely concerned about population growth — we’re not seeing it,” Mohler said. “First of all, we’re not replacing ourselves. …Then we have the aging of the population. …And if we slow or cease immigration, all of a sudden, we don’t have workers. And we need workers to grow GDP. I know productivity can help, but it can’t offset the loss that we’re seeing in people.”

Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon said the long-term effects of the changes to the H-1B visa process on local businesses are uncertain, though local employers relying on highly skilled technical workers are likely to feel an impact.

“Some of our larger city employers do rely on H-1B visas for employees and I’ve reached out to several to understand the impact of the administration’s changes to the process for their business,” Ferdon said. “The H-1B temporary visas are used to get job candidates for highly skilled technical, scientific or medical positions which need specialized knowledge, and a significant cost increase will certainly impact a business’ bottom line. Because there are several other changes to the process, it is hard to know what long-term effects these changes will have on our local businesses, but we do know that with the city’s large manufacturing base, our employers needing highly technical skilled employees will be impacted as they navigate through these changes.”
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