Something to Know - 21 September

Another day in the well crafted and well thought out agenda of King Wannabe; the dramatic 

announcement and the endless walkbacks and confusion:

Once again, panic and chaos after a half-assed rollout. This time, world-wide. 

On Friday, Trump suddenly announced that H-1B visas, used heavily by US tech companies to bring in well-educated 

workers, were going up in price.  

How much? Oh just a little. The fee had ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 per application. Now it would cost 

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. 

Yes. $100,000 dollars. Oh. And the change was effective immediately. As of midnight on Sunday. 

Trump was very proud of this "Proclamation", which he signed into law with yet another Executive Order, 

and said that tech companies would be pleased with the changes.

"I think they're going to be very happy. Everyone's going to be happy," Trump said

They weren't happy. Nobody was happy. Nobody at all. 

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Companies frantically contacted their foreign employees, telling them to either stay in the US, or return 

immediately if they were abroad. Weddings and vacations were abandoned as visa holders returned 

without even packing. One person reportedly paid $8,000 to get flights back from Japan. 

Meanwhile, planes on US tarmacs were delayed for up to two hours while passengers already on board 

to leave the US de-planed, forfeiting all the money they had paid for their flights and vacations. Most were 

not even able to retrieve their luggage.

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The result was pandemonium, on a global scale. 

And so, the walk-back by the Trump administration began, first with some clarification posted on 

X by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday. 

For the first time, everyone found out that the $100K would be a one-time fee, not a yearly fee, 

and that it would NOT apply to current visa holders. 

Well, THAT would have been nice to know. That is, if that HAD been the actual plan, and not 

some tweak that Trump and Lutnick came up with on the fly Saturday, in response to the 

furor they had unleashed. 

Leavitt wrote: "Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country 

right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter.

"H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would."

She added that the new fee would only apply to "new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders".

However, questions STILL remain about HOW the Trump administration will implement a system 

to accept payments, as some agencies are STILL waiting on guidance from the White House. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Oh, but Trump blew all that off on Saturday. He decided, of course, to blame ALL the 

"misunderstandings" on "FAKE NEWS" created by "others with agendas". 

And he could not understand why everyone, from visa holders, to tech companies, to his corporate 

donors, to our foreign trading partners  were so angry. 

NBC News reports that  India's government said the measure was likely to have "humanitarian 

consequences by way of the disruption caused for families," adding the "full implications of the 

measure" were being studied.

India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved beneficiaries, 

while China was a distant second at 11.7%, according to government data.  

New Delhi and Washington are set to resume trade negotiations on the Trump administration's steep 

tariffs, but in a sign of how ties have strained Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked citizens in a public 

address Sunday to increase use of locally-made products rather than foreign ones.

South Korea, which is still reeling from a Sept. 4 raid by immigration authorities on a Hyundai battery 

plant in Georgia, also said it was paying close attention to the change.

"When the government announces a major new policy potentially affecting the lives of hundreds of 

thousands of people in an extremely concrete way" Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the 

American Immigration Council said on X. "AT THE VERY LEAST it owes people precise information." (NBC News)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Millions of people world-wide apply for H-1B visas, but since only 85,000 visas are issued each year 

there is a lottery for those who end up qualifying. 

American companies have the edge on getting the visas for their applicants who have already been 

vetted and have a job waiting for them. 

And American companies hire them because they are not only well educated, and speak English, 

they are CHEAP. They will accept a salary and benefit package for $60K, where Americans expect 

to be paid over $100K for the same job. 

Trump had originally been fine with this arrangement when he was buddies with Elon Musk, who 

hired a great many of these workers.  

But now the constant financial advisor at his side is Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who 

convinced Trump that the arrangement unfairly undercuts US workers, who would be hired instead,

if companies had to pay $100K for a visa on top of the foreign worker's salary. 

Sounds good, right? But here is the rub. Big corporations can afford to take the hit, whether they pay 

more for an American worker, or pay more for a foreign visa. 

Smaller tech companies cannot afford the hit. And this could impact them to the point where they 

could not be competitive, and either have to shut down or be bought out by a big corporation. 

Mergers are the name of the game. The race is on by big corporations to swallow up every competitor 

in sight. To grow as fast and as big as possible in the new "Robber Baron" days of the Trump administration. 

Size is wealth and size is power.

And Howard Lutnick, a billionaire with 60% majority stakeholder in Cantor Fitzgerald, who reportedly gave 

over $400,000 to Trump's campaign and affiliated committees, and $6 million to MAGA Inc, and is affiliated 

with Project 2025, is all about wealth and power.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

There was a second big announcement that was part of Trump's Proclamation on Friday. 

He was finally unveiling his shiny new "GOLD VISA", branded with his very own face and name and 

signature, instead of the US Government. 

Foreign nationals who contribute at least $1 million to the Commerce Department will be eligible for 

an expedited path to an immigrant visa. Corporations can secure the same privilege for employees, 

with a $2-million payment.  

They will have to pay an additional $15K for "vetting fees" to qualify for green card status. 

The Gold Card will replace the existing EB-1 and EB-2 visa categories, which currently provide green 

cards for individuals with "exceptional ability" in business and other fields. 

(YES! That is the "Einstein"  visa Melania Trump used to enter the country. As a .... model. She had

been trying to apply for a green card visa, so she could work here. But she applied for the EB-1 visa

after she started dating Donald Trump. She was approved in 2001.)

BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE! 

Lutnick also announced plans for a $5-million "Platinum Card" visa that would allow recipients to stay 

in the United States for up to 270 days annually without paying taxes on non-U.S. income. That proposal

which does not include a pathway to citizenship, would require congressional approval. A federal website has already opened a waiting list, he said. 

Stay tuned. They'll figure this all out. Eventually. 

Meanwhile, it is already being challenged in the courts.

Glee Violette author

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Juan Matute

The Harold Wilke House 

Claremont, California

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-mar-01-me-wilke1-story.html

The thin skin is so transparent that it shows just how tiny a shallow mind can be.