The Trump administration's hefty new visa fees for H-1B workers have prompted high-level talks inside companies in Silicon Valley and beyond on the possibility of moving more jobs overseas - precisely the outcome the policy was meant to stop.

Silicon Valley start-ups said they were concerned they would be disproportionately hurt by the new visa fee for skilled foreign workers, given their limited resources.

US officials later clarified current H-1B holders were unaffected but immigration lawyers already advised people to return.

A wave of panic and confusion has spread through Indian communities and the global tech industry, following US President Donald Trump’s surprise order imposing a $100,000 fee for the H-1B visa, impacting the largest group of beneficiaries of the skilled-worker program.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed new fees on H-1B visas on Friday as part of his wide-ranging crackdown on immigration.

The rollout of President Donald Trump’s plan to charge highly skilled foreign workers $100,000 for visas was not smooth. After Trump announced the new fee for H-1B visas on Friday, the president’s press office spent the weekend issuing clarification after clarification after clarification to the president’s proclamation.

For years, Canada’s highly-skilled industries such as technology and health care have suffered a brain drain to the US. Some executives believe President Donald Trump’s move to make H-1B visas more expensive will change the dynamic.

President Donald Trump is instituting two major changes to the H-1B visa process, including the introduction of a so-called "gold card," the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed in a media release.