The Trump administration has proposed making a controversial H-1B visa fee of $103,265 permanent, a move that would dramatically increase the cost of hiring highly skilled foreign workers and could reshape how U.S. technology companies, universities and research institutions recruit talent from abroad.

The proposal, published Monday in the Federal Register, would replace the $100,000 fee President Donald Trump temporarily imposed on certain H-1B applications last year. It is now subject to a 30-day public comment period before the Department of Homeland Security can decide whether to issue a final rule.

The proposed charge would represent an extraordinary increase from the traditional cost of an H-1B application, which has generally ranged from about $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the employer and circumstances of the application.

The H-1B programme allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, including technology, engineering, education, medicine and research. The programme provides 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 available to foreign workers holding advanced degrees from U.S. institutions. Visas are generally approved for three years and can be extended to six.

For employers that depend heavily on international recruitment, the proposed fee could fundamentally alter the economics of hiring foreign workers. Last year, some companies, including Walmart, paused hiring due to the decision.

A six-figure government charge would be particularly significant for startups, universities and research organizations that cannot absorb the cost as easily as large technology companies. It could also encourage companies to shift some hiring and development work outside the United States rather than incur the expense of bringing foreign employees into the country.

The administration’s proposal comes as the H-1B programme is already under considerable pressure.

Trump imposed a $100,000 fee last year, but federal courts subsequently blocked the administration from collecting it. A federal judge ruled in June that the fee was illegal, while an appeals court in Boston is reviewing that decision. A separate court is considering a challenge brought by a major business group after a Washington, D.C., judge rejected the case.

The new proposal could give the administration another mechanism for pursuing the same policy while potentially triggering a new round of litigation.

The legal dispute goes to the heart of the administration’s authority over the H-1B system.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, unions and employer groups have challenged the fee, arguing that the president’s authority to restrict the entry of foreign nationals does not allow the administration to override the statute establishing the H-1B programme.

The challengers also point out that the Department of Homeland Security cannot impose what amounts to a revenue-generating fee without explicit congressional authorization. The administration disputes that interpretation. It has argued that the charge is not a conventional tax and that the courts have limited authority to second-guess the president’s immigration powers.

The scale of the proposed increase is already having an effect on employer behavior.

According to administration court filings, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had received only 85 payments of the $100,000 fee from 70 employers as of February 15. The relatively small number suggests that the previous fee has already discouraged some employers from pursuing H-1B hires.

H-1B demand has also fallen sharply under the administration’s broader immigration restrictions. Employers registered for about 344,000 H-1B visas last year, more than 25% below the number registered in 2024 and less than half the roughly 794,000 registrations recorded in 2023, according to USCIS data.

That decline is notable because the programme has historically been one of the main channels through which U.S. technology companies and other employers recruit specialized workers from overseas.

Trump and supporters of tighter immigration controls believe that the programme has been abused by companies seeking cheaper foreign labor and, in some cases, replacing American workers.

Business groups and many employers counter that the H-1B system addresses shortages in specialized occupations where U.S. companies cannot find enough qualified workers domestically. They also note that the ability to recruit internationally is essential for maintaining the United States’ position in technology, scientific research and other high-skilled industries.

The proposed fee therefore goes beyond an immigration policy dispute, with experts warning that it could become a competitiveness issue for the U.S. economy.

The technology sector is exposed because many companies depend on engineers, software developers, researchers and other specialized workers whose skills are in high demand globally. A significantly higher cost of bringing such employees into the United States could encourage companies to recruit talent in Canada, Europe, India and other technology centers instead.

It could also change the calculus for multinational companies deciding where to establish research and development operations.

The administration has simultaneously moved to make the H-1B system more selective. It has ordered enhanced vetting of applicants and proposed a selection system that would give greater weight to highly skilled and highly paid workers.

Earlier, DHS also proposed separate fees of up to $4,500 for certain applications involving H-1B workers seeking to extend their stay or transfer to the United States from overseas.

Together, the measures point toward a significantly more restrictive and expensive H-1B system, with the administration seeking to reduce what it views as low-value use of the programme while favoring highly compensated workers.

If the $103,265 fee survives the legal challenges and becomes permanent, hiring an H-1B worker would carry a government cost that in some cases could exceed the employee’s annual salary at smaller companies and research institutions. That would make the H-1B visa not simply an immigration pathway, but a major financial consideration in corporate hiring decisions.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer has warned investors that the bond market is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore as rising long-term Treasury yields, persistent inflation and heavy corporate borrowing linked to the artificial intelligence boom put additional pressure on U.S. equities.

“Normally, I don’t like to talk about bonds, because you don’t want to hear about bonds,” Cramer said Monday on CNBC’s “Mad Money.” “Unfortunately, it’s very important now that long-term interest rates are on the rise.”

The 10-year Treasury yield has climbed from below 4% in February to nearly 4.7%, while the 30-year yield recently moved above 5.3%, its highest level in almost two decades.

The rise in yields has become a growing concern for investors because it changes the relative attractiveness of stocks while increasing the discount rate applied to future corporate earnings. Higher Treasury yields can also raise financing costs for companies, potentially reducing investment and profitability.

The pressure has increasingly appeared in equity markets. The S&P 500 has fallen in five of its past seven trading sessions as investors reassess the outlook for interest rates and corporate earnings.

The bond market’s deterioration has also raised questions about demand for U.S. government debt. A recent 30-year Treasury auction attracted weaker demand than the previous month’s sale, even though yields remained elevated, adding to concerns that investors may require higher returns to absorb the government’s expanding borrowing needs.

The Treasury Department attempted to address some of those concerns last week by announcing that it would more than double planned purchases of longer-dated government securities. The announcement initially pushed Treasury yields lower and stocks higher, but the improvement quickly faded. Yields rose again on Thursday and Friday, suggesting investors remain focused on the underlying forces driving long-term borrowing costs rather than Treasury’s debt-management operation alone.

Cramer said the Treasury has limited ability to address those fundamental pressures.

“The only real solution to this problem is to either cut spending or raise more revenue and the Treasury can’t do either of those things on its own,” he said.

The size of the U.S. government’s debt is central to the concern. With the national debt now around $40 trillion, the government faces enormous financing requirements, meaning Treasury must continue issuing large quantities of securities to fund deficits and refinance maturing debt.

But Cramer pointed to two additional forces that could keep long-term rates elevated: higher oil prices and a surge in corporate borrowing to finance AI infrastructure.

Oil prices have risen sharply during the war with Iran, adding to inflationary pressure across the economy. Higher energy prices feed into transportation, manufacturing, and consumer costs, complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to bring inflation back toward its target. That creates a problem for both ends of the yield curve. Persistent inflation can keep short-term rates higher for longer, while investors may demand higher yields on longer-dated Treasurys to compensate for inflation risk and the government’s borrowing requirements.

The AI investment boom is adding another layer of pressure through corporate debt markets.

Technology companies and major hyperscalers are committing enormous sums to data centers, computing capacity, electricity infrastructure and other equipment needed to expand AI services. Some of that spending is being financed through debt issuance.

That means Treasury securities are now competing with corporate bonds for investors’ capital.

“As more incremental dollars go to shares or bonds from a hyperscaler, Treasury yields have to creep higher in order to stay competitive,” Cramer said.

The dynamic creates a feedback mechanism for equity markets. Higher Treasury yields make government bonds more attractive relative to stocks, while higher corporate borrowing costs make it more expensive for technology companies to finance AI infrastructure. That could become essential as investors demand evidence that the enormous capital expenditures associated with AI will eventually produce sufficient revenue and profits.

The issue is not simply the amount companies are spending. The cost of financing that spending matters as well. If interest rates remain elevated, the time required for large infrastructure investments to generate attractive returns can become longer, putting additional pressure on valuations.

Cramer said a sustained decline in long-term rates ultimately depends on reducing the inflation pressures that are keeping yields elevated.

“We want long-term interest rates to go lower, but that’s only gonna happen if we can get inflation under control by reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and that’s a tall order,” he said.

He also argued that the Treasury’s intervention may have unsettled investors rather than reassuring them.

“The Treasury Department’s attempts to get this under control I think have only made investors more nervous,” Cramer said.

The broader concern is that Treasury can alter the composition and timing of government debt issuance, but it cannot by itself eliminate the structural forces pushing yields higher. Fiscal deficits determine how much debt ultimately needs to be financed, while inflation, economic growth and monetary policy influence the returns investors demand for holding it.

That leaves the stock market vulnerable if long-term yields continue rising even without a recession.