Some hope this visa price hike will see the US tech industry prioritise American workers. Others argue it'll dissuade the "world's smartest talent" from choosing to work in the US.
The H-1B visa requires at least a bachelor's degree and is principally used for high-skilled jobs that tech companies can struggle to fill.
Critics of the program, including many US tech workers, argue it allows firms to suppress wages and sideline Americans who could do the jobs.
They say many overseas workers are willing to work for as little as $US60,000 annually, well below the $US100,000-plus salaries typically paid to US teh workers.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hopes the price hike will dissuade tech companies from preferencing overseas workers over Americans.
"If you're going to train people, you're going to train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs," he told reporters.
"If you have a very sophisticated engineer and you want to bring them in ... then you can pay $US100,000 a year for your H-1B visa."
He said the change will likely result in far fewer H-1B visas than the 85,000 annual cap allows because "it's just not economic anymore".
India will likely be most impacted by this price increase, accounting for 71 per cent of approved beneficiaries of H-1B visas last year.
China was a distant second at 11.7 per cent, according to government data.
Tech heavyweights may also feel the pinch.
This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient of H-1B visas with more than 10,000 awarded, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple and Google.