What You Need to Know: Industry Insights into the New Immigration Policies

On Oct. 14, Fakhoury Global Immigration’s USA Managing Director, Rami Fakhoury, joined MichAuto Executive Director Glenn Stevens Jr. for a fireside chat on the implications of the new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, changes related to the I-9 process, the addition of the Gold Card program, and the potential limitations international students may face when wanting to pursue a higher education in the U.S.

In September 2025, the Trump administration issued a proclamation increasing the government fee to $100,000 for H-1B visa applications. (Previously, it cost employers $2,000-5,000 per petition, depending on the size of the employer.) Kicking off the conversation, Fakhoury outlined that the H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire professionals or specialty workers who hold a four-year college degree in a field related to their intended work. To qualify, both the role and the candidate must meet these specialized criteria.

In the automotive and mobility industry, many employers rely on H-1B professionals, often U.S.-educated engineers and information technology specialists, to fill critical early-career positions. Increasing H-1B fees makes it even harder for small and mid-sized companies to participate in the program. At the same time, larger corporations may be better able to absorb the added costs.

“There aren’t as many American workers who are pursuing a lot of the STEM-based work we need, so it’s a generational thing that cannot be fixed within a year or two,” Fakhoury said. “We need a long-term plan to encourage more Americans to go into STEM-based fields and to stay in them.”

Furthermore, the administration’s wage-level structure, which categorizes prevailing wages into four levels, continues to place most applicants in the higher Levels 3 and 4. These levels are intended for more experienced or supervisory roles, making it difficult for startups and smaller employers to meet the salary thresholds required for entry-level or mid-level H-1B workers. Looking at the bigger picture, Fakhoury said it is “quite a significant blow if you will to longstanding American recruitment of talent practices for the last two decades.”

Due to the recent changes to the I-9 process, an increase in audits is expected. Therefore, it’s essential to have individuals properly vetted, screened, and authorized to work in the U.S. The additional audits haven’t hit as many white-collar companies, but Fakhoury stressed the importance of “making sure you have audited your entire I-9 profile for all your employees. Penalties can be quite severe, and it seems like with this administration, they are looking for additional revenue.”

Speaking to human resource professionals, Fakhoury recommends that companies have a point person, should there ever be a fraud detection or national security visit.

“It’s very important that one person holds all the knowledge because sometimes they will approach a receptionist who is not up to speed on who’s there, why they are there, and what their status is,” he said.

Shedding light on an additional change, the administration announced the Gold Card, a path to residency, also known as obtaining a green card, which will be placed in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) and Employment-Based Second Preference, National Interest Waiver (EB-2 NIW) categories, which are U.S. employment-based green card programs for highly skilled workers, researchers, and professionals with advanced degrees or abilities in their fields.

To put into perspective, Fakhoury estimated approximately 140,000 employment-based visas are issued every year, with about 28.5% per category.

The issue Fakhoury foresees is the new route that ties eligibility to a monetary contribution of $1 million, intended to support internships, education, training, and investment. Additionally, if a company sponsors a key worker, it must pay $2 million.

Overall, “by failing to allow that individual to stay here long-term on a green card, it causes many talent disruptions and long-term planning and dissuades the best and brightest in the world to pursue anything in the U.S.,” Fakhoury highlighted.

This will also result in crucial visa numbers being allocated from the EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-1C, and EB-2 PERM/NIW categories, potentially reducing opportunities for highly skilled professionals and researchers who typically qualify under these pathways. Rather than focusing on specialized ability or labor market needs, the Gold Card program focuses primarily on financial investment, which Fakhoury said “values an investment or money over what we deem as human capital.”

Concluding, the educational path for international children wanting to pursue higher education in the U.S. has some changes. For some background information, Fakhoury mentioned that many families from abroad have two or three children whom they wish to send to schools in the U.S., which results in these families having to pay triple what U.S. citizens pay.

Alongside significant cuts to research funding, the administration has announced plans to eliminate the long-standing “duration of status” rule, which allows international students to remain in the U.S. as long as they maintain their student status. Instead, students would receive a two- or four-year visa, after which they would need to reapply or leave the country.

“By doing this, the U.S. government is going to essentially dissuade international students from coming in because of the costs being so prohibitive and the limitation on the visa is somewhat risky, so a lot of individuals will rethink whether they want to pursue school in the U.S.,” Fakhoury said.

Another major concern involves the potential removal of Optional Practical Training (OPT), which currently allows international graduates to gain up to a year of work experience in the U.S. (and an additional 27 months for STEM graduates) before transitioning to another visa, such as the H-1 B visa. OPT has long served as a bridge for students to apply their education in real-world settings and contribute to American companies. Eliminating this option would make the U.S. far less attractive to global talent, especially given that “71% of graduate students in STEM are international students.

“I don’t know where you are going to find students to fill that ranking,” Fakhoury said.