SEATTLE — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington’s medical facilities have put a pause on sponsoring H-1B foreign worker visas after President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee last month.
The fee would apply to new H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025.
H-1B visas, which require a bachelor’s degree or higher, are meant for high-skilled jobs that companies find difficult to fill.
In his proclamation, Trump said the program has been “deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.”
Days after the president announced the fee, UW, which operates UW and Harborview medical centers, began updating guidance regarding foreign worker visas, first pausing them through Oct. 8, and then extending that pause through Oct. 15.
In an email sent to We on Oct 15, a UW spokesperson said, “the pause remains in effect while we continue to gather information about the potential impacts the implementation of the executive order from Sept. 19 may have on the UW.”
Fred Hutch followed suit announcing that they had temporarily paused visa applications for workers hired after Oct 1.
“Fred Hutch will continue to closely monitor this issue and any changes that may impact our ability to continue making discoveries to treat, cure and prevent cancer and infectious diseases,” a Fred Hutch spokesperson said in a statement to We.
The statement further clarified that the pause is for new employees only, and that they are waiting for additional guidance before determining what potential impacts current employees with visas could face.
According to federal data, Fred Hutch has been one of the top health care employers of H-1B visa holders in the state.
Health care ranks far below other industries — namely tech — in the state for employing these workers, according to the same data.
Since 2021, Microsoft has employed more than 28,000 employees on H-1B visas. For the same time period, Fred Hutch employed 183.
트위터 공유: 프레드 허치 UW 메디슨 10만 달러 수수료로 인한 신규 외국인...