The perverse consequence of America’s US$100,000 visa fees

“YOU graduate from a college, I think you should get, automatically as part of your diploma, a green card (permanent residence in the United States),” promised Donald Trump on the campaign trail last year.

As president, on Sep 19, Trump headed in the opposite direction. He proposed a charge of US$100,000 on new applications for H-1B visas, a favourite of technology firms hiring foreign graduates.

Each year, 85,000 are issued by lottery (demand far outstrips that quota). Hitherto, the cost of securing one has been about US$2,500 in legal and filing fees.