Kenyans seeking jobs in the US will now need sponsorship from their intended employers to access the H1B visa, which will cost Sh12,919,000 ($100,000). This could make it harder for them to get jobs.
This follows US President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order on Friday to implement the new charges, as he seeks to reduce the number of foreign workers.
Trump’s directive introduces an annual fee for companies sponsoring H-1B visa holders, who are skilled foreign workers.
Since 2004, the number of H-1B applications has been capped at 85,000 per year.
Until now, H-1B visas have carried various administrative fees totalling around $1,500 (Sh193,785).
According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, as of 2022, there were around 168,915 Kenyan immigrants living in the US.
This figure had increased by around 9.6 percent from 154,062 in 2021.
Considering steady immigration since 2022, some reports suggest that the number has since crossed 170,000.
Between 2022 and mid-2024, 730 Kenyans were deported (or returned after deportation).
186 Kenyans were deported from the US in 2022, 378 in 2023, and 166 in the first half of 2024.
However, the effects of some of these policies are already being felt in Kenya, which relies heavily on diaspora remittances as a source of foreign exchange earnings.
Fresh figures from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) show inflows fell again in August, with the year-on-year total dipping by 0.2 per cent; from $427.2 million (Sh55.2 billion) in August 2024 to $426.1 million (Sh55 billion) in August 2025.
Trump's order mentions 'abuse' of the programme and will restrict entry unless payment is made. His supporters say that H1B visas have alienated America’s skilled workforce from 'plum jobs'.
Administration officials said that the change to the H-1B programme would ensure that companies only sponsor workers with the most specialised skill sets.
According to Whitehouse reports, the proportion of IT workers with H-1B visas has increased from 32 per cent in FY 2003 to over 65 per cent in recent years.
Meanwhile, unemployment among recent computer science graduates has reached 6.1 percent, while the figure for computer engineering graduates is 7.5 percent — both of which are more than double the rates for biology or art history majors.
Between 2000 and 2019, the number of foreign STEM workers in the United States more than doubled, while overall STEM employment increased by only 44.5 percent during that time.
Some analysts have suggested that the fee may force companies to move some high-value work overseas, which would hinder the US's position in the high-stakes artificial intelligence race with China.
