Walmart halts job offers for H-1B visa candidates

October 21, 2025

Walmart has decided to halt hiring candidates requiring H-1B visas in response to the Trump administration's new $100,000 fee imposed on the program. This executive order, signed by President Trump, targets what he describes as "abuse" of the skilled foreign worker program that allegedly undermines American workers. As the largest private employer in the US with 1.

Who is affected

H-1B visa applicants, particularly from India (70% of recipients) and China (12% of recipients)
Walmart, as the largest retail user of H-1B visas
US employers, especially tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google
Startups and smaller firms that employ workers through H-1B visas
The American workforce that the policy aims to protect from being undercut

What action is being taken

Walmart is pausing hiring candidates who require H-1B visas
The Trump administration is imposing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa requests
The US Chamber of Commerce is filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the fee
The White House is defending the fee as a "necessary, initial, incremental step towards necessary reforms"

Why it matters

The high fee makes it financially challenging for US employers to hire foreign talent
The policy affects over 2,000 potential Walmart hires and thousands more at tech companies
It represents a significant shift in US immigration policy for skilled workers
The program is central to how many US businesses, particularly in tech, access global talent
The debate highlights tensions between protecting American workers and attracting international talent

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC