Walmart confirms its ‘pause’ in offering jobs to applicants requiring special H-1B treatment

Walmart has confirmed it is pausing job offers to applicants who require the special treatment demanded by the H-1B visa program.

A report at Bloomberg said it is the “latest example” of how the Trump administration’s $100,000 visa fees are disrupting workforces.

The report cited people “who asked not to be identified discussing private information” to assert Trump’s increased fees for the special privileges allocated to H-1B visa holders were reverberating “across technology and other industries.”

The Trump administration change to the program was announced to curb abuse of the program, through which millions of American workers have been displaced and replaced by foreigners who often are paid much lower salaries.

“Walmart is the largest user of H-1B visas among major retail chains, employing an estimated 2,390 H-1B visa holders, according to government data,” the report said, adding that’s actually only a tiny fraction of the more than 1.6 million H-1B visa workers around today.

Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and other tech giants are the biggest users of the program.

“Walmart is committed to hiring and investing in the best talent to serve our customers, while remaining thoughtful about our H-1B hiring approach,” a Walmart official said, in the report.

Under Trump’s plan Walmart and other employers would have to pay $100,000 payments for workers they want to hire under the program if those individuals are not already eligible to legally work in the U.S.

The report noted the opposition to Trump’s plan from those who have been profiteering on the scheme.

“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S.,” charged Neil Bradley, of the Chamber of Commerce.

His organization sued the Trump administration over the dispute.

The White House has explained the changes are the beginning of a number of “necessary reforms” in the program.

Bloomberg said, “Critics have said the program — which was introduced in 1990 to address specific labor shortages — undermines employment of skilled U.S. workers.”