The eds-and-meds economy that reshaped Pittsburgh after the collapse of steelmaking relies on skilled international workers living in the U.S. on H-1B visas. But a federal shakeup to the H-1B application process raises challenges for local institutions including the University of Pittsburgh, the area’s largest employer of H-1B workers.
Finding experts with specialized backgrounds is “part of what has made our universities stand out,” said Andrea Peña-Vasquez, assistant professor of international affairs at Pitt. “It’s made us competitive in this globalized workforce.”
In September, the Trump administration introduced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications. This cost, shouldered by employers, dwarfs the $2,000 to $5,000 they paid on average to file petitions previously. Unless exemptions are granted, Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University could struggle to attract and keep international talent.
Pittsburgh’s top H-1B employers also include companies in finance, health care and tech — all of which may have to grapple with increased costs associated with hiring skilled workers from abroad.
There are an estimated 730,000 H-1B visa holders in the U.S. The visas are reserved for skilled workers — people with “highly specialized knowledge,” according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Of those, more than 14,000 people received H-1Bs in Pennsylvania this year, and nearly 2,000 did in Pittsburgh.
How could local universities be impacted?
Pitt, the city’s top employer of H-1B recipients in 2025, had 272 visa holders approved this year, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In a statement, the university referred to these employees as “essential members of the university community,” and pointed to efforts to grant fee exemptions to universities.
Colleges have historically been exempt from the national H-1B cap, which limits the number of new recipients to 65,000 per fiscal year. Since the September proclamation, education advocates have urged the Trump administration to also exempt universities from the new fee.
“We are closely monitoring the situation with the aim to affordably preserve these roles,” the Pitt statement said of H1-B employees, as well as other international staff and students.
CMU referred Public Source to a Sept. 20 statement in which it advised H-1B visa holders to “consider travel carefully” and reach out to advisors as federal guidelines evolve.
Peña-Vasquez, the Pitt professor, said several Pitt faculty members are employed on H-1B visas, adding that the fee risks universities’ ability to “recruit and retain top talent” from other countries.
Students from overseas could be impacted as well. The proclamation alarmed international students nearing graduation who planned to pursue H-1B visas to continue their careers in the U.S.
A month after the administration’s initial proclamation, though, USCIS clarified that the fee would not apply to current visa holders, including international students with F-1 visa status — signaling a sigh of relief for those students, at least for now.
“If they realize that there is no opportunity for them to make a life here and work here, they might as well go to Germany, Japan, UK.”Ellen Freeman
Still, Peña-Vasquez said the move could make studying in the U.S. more “challenging” for future international students. She said she would be unsurprised if the national enrollment of international students continued to decline. This year, U.S. colleges saw a 19% drop in international enrollment following Trump administration travel bans, visa delays and threats to deport students or revoke their visas. At Pitt, international enrollment was down 6% this year, and at CMU, international enrollment dropped 1.7% year-over-year.
Local immigration lawyer Ellen Freeman said the move could lead future international students to look elsewhere for their education.
“If they realize that there is no opportunity for them to make a life here and work here, they might as well go to Germany, Japan, UK — other countries where they will have long-term opportunities,” Freeman said. Other than H-1B visas, Freeman said, international students have few other avenues to pursue to stay in the U.S. after graduation.
Troubles in medicine, tech and finance
Nationally, hospitals have sounded alarms about the impact the fee will have on the U.S. health care system. One in four U.S. physicians were born overseas, and there are about 10,000 physicians with H-1B visas. Concerns about health care worker shortages, particularly in rural areas, have led the American Hospital Association to plead for fee exemptions for physicians.
UPMC, which did not respond to requests for comment, has more than 120 H-1B employees across its various branches. The Highmark Health Network, which houses Allegheny Health, has more than 130. While current H-1B holders won’t have to pay the fee when they renew their visas, the administration has not said that physicians who submit new H-1B applications would be exempt.
Outside of colleges and health care providers, banks and software companies are among Pittsburgh’s top H-1B employers. Audrey Russo, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, said the fee means Pittsburgh’s “innovation economy” will have to reevaluate its future.
It wouldn’t be easy for a company of any size to foot a $100,000 fee for their H-1B employees, Russo said. The fee could particularly impact the autonomous vehicle sector, helmed by local robotics company Aurora, which she called “a cornerstone for growth” in Pittsburgh. As a venture-backed company with investors to answer to, Aurora and the rest of the local robotics industry will have to “think really deep and hard about having to hire someone,” when those costs are increased tenfold.
“It’s really gonna impact all of us.”Andrea Peña-Vasquez
For smaller companies that rely on H-1B workers, Russo agreed the fee could be an existential threat.
“Everyone’s quiet right now,” she said.
Still, Russo stressed that the local tech sector isn’t twiddling its thumbs until the future becomes clearer. She said local companies are reevaluating what those futures look like. Some could prioritize graduates born in the U.S., a stated intention of the Trump administration. Others could end up offshoring their operations entirely.
“I really don’t know,” what companies will do, she said. “But you can’t underestimate that people want people who can solve hard problems.”
Aurora did not respond to requests for comment. A PNC representative declined to comment. The Bank of New York said in an emailed statement that it was reviewing the H-1B program changes and would continue to keep its employees informed.
‘Substitutes’ or job creators?
The Trump administration has framed the push to limit H-1B workers as an effort to ensure more jobs go to U.S. nationals. The September proclamation said the H-1B program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers.”
But Peña-Vasquez said that’s a misconception, pointing to research showing H-1B workers have actually created more job opportunities and boosted the U.S. economy.
While some jobs that would’ve gone to international workers may now be filled by U.S. nationals, Peña-Vasquez said some roles could simply go unfilled, or others may go on to be automated.
“It wouldn’t necessarily be that this would then open up the doors for American workers,” she said. “Generally, the reason we have H-1B is to be able to fill these labor needs that we aren’t currently able to fill with Americans.”
As universities, hospitals and the local tech sector navigate the H-1B fee, and the changes in hiring it presents, Peña-Vasquez said only one thing was certain.
“It’s really gonna impact all of us,” she said.
Editor’s note: this story was updated on Nov. 11 to reflect new data released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and to clarify the characterization of data in the top employers chart.
Tory Basile is an editorial intern at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at tory@publicsource.org.
This story was fact-checked by Ember Duke.
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