Trump administration signs tightening of US visas, increases surveillance on foreign workers

Kathmandu. The Trump administration has indicated that it is preparing to tighten the visa system for foreign workers. Anthony D’Esposito, the inspector general of the US Department of Labor, has indicated that there is a “critical time” coming on the issue of foreign work visas, and that there will be increased monitoring of the recruitment and visa process of foreign workers through social media.

He said on social media X that “an important week is coming up on the foreign work visa front” and that he will give priority to American jobs and American workers. However, he did not specify which visa program, company or research was targeted.

The Trump administration has been tightening the H-1B visa system, in particular. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said on Oct. 2 that the H-1B system was “completely broken” and that he supported ending it if necessary. Vance has accused tech companies, accounting firms and other businesses of abusing the H-1B system to replace U.S. workers with low-wage foreign workers. According to him, bringing in highly-skilled foreign workforce and hiring foreign workers for lower wages than U.S. workers are a different matter.

Meanwhile, the U.S. administration has also imposed a monetary fee of ¥100,000 for certain H-1B applicants abroad. The fee was implemented in September 2025 and was extended to September 21, 2027 in September 2026. The exemption has been made in some limited cases related to the national interest.

The administration has also made other changes to the H-1B system. The executive order, issued on Sept. 18, directs the Departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security to investigate whether the U.S. company has fired or plans to remove domestic workers of similar nature.

Similarly, the Department of Labor has been directed to investigate whether there were possible violations in the previously registered labor conditions applications÷ It also proposes to give priority to high-paying jobs in the H-1B selection process.

However, the $100,000 H-1B fee is under legal challenge. On Oct. 1, a federal judicial officer halted the implementation of the fee, saying the administration had not completed the required administrative procedures.

Financial Deposit on Tourist Visa for Nepalese

Meanwhile, the US State Department has set a requirement for visas of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 for citizens of 50 countries to apply for B-1÷B-2 tourist and business visas.

Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan are also included in this list, while India has been exempted from this provision. This provision has come into effect for the citizens of Nepal and Bangladesh from January 21 and for Bhutan from January 1.

During the visa interview, the consular officer will determine the amount of the deposit for the applicant. According to the U.S. Department of State, this provision was implemented under Section 221(g)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The rule was formalized by issuing a final rule on August 3 based on data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on visa overstay.