The Trump administration recently announced a massive change to the H-1B visa program, raising the application fee from $2,000-$5,000 to $100,000 per visa. The change has sent shockwaves through the startup world, with founders warning it could price them out of hiring international talent and undermine U.S. innovation.
Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Dominic-Madori Davis was joined by Jeremy Neufeld, the director of Immigration Policy at the Institute for Progress, to break down what this H-1B change means for startups, founders, and the future of tech talent in America.
Listen to the full episode to hear about:
- The massive loophole that lets 80% of H-1B applicants skip the $100,000 fee entirely
- Why the new wage system could give more visa slots to experienced acupuncturists than fresh AI PhD grads making $200,000
- Why universities and national labs are stuck in limbo, knowing they have to pay but not knowing how
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.
Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Dominic-Madori Davis is a senior venture capital and startup reporter at TechCrunch. She is based in New York City.
You can contact or verify outreach from Dominic by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at +1 646 831-7565 on Signal.
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing [email protected].

7 months ago
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