Trump admin proposes hiking H-1B visa fee to over $100,000, Indians brace for impact
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Indian professionals account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries. Photograph: (X)
The proposed rule will now enter a 30-day public comment period, after which DHS could finalise it by the end of the year. The move comes amid growing uncertainty around the H-1B programme, particularly for Indian professionals who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday proposed raising the fee for certain H-1B visa applications to $103,265. The proposal that was posted in the Federal Register on Monday would turn the controversial $100,000 H-1B payment introduced by the Donald Trump administration last year into a formal regulatory requirement.
The proposed rule will now enter a 30-day public comment period, after which DHS could finalise it by the end of the year. The move comes amid growing uncertainty around the H-1B programme, particularly for Indian professionals who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries.
The proposed $103,265 charge follows Trump’s 2025 proclamation that imposed a $100,000 payment for certain new H-1B petitions. Although that proclamation is due to expire in September, it instructed DHS to pursue regulations that would make the payment permanent.
The fee has already become the subject of a legal battle. On June 8, 2026, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated agency guidance implementing the $100,000 payment requirement in State of California v. Mullin.
DHS challenged the decision and sought a stay from the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
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The First Circuit rejected the government’s request on July 24. DHS said it disagrees with the ruling but will comply with the court’s order while it considers its next steps. The department has also made clear that if the court order is eventually lifted, it still intends to collect the payment.
Meanwhile, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B cap and 20,000 master’s cap for fiscal year 2027. The proposed fee is therefore arriving alongside a broader tightening of the H-1B system, which has become increasingly difficult for employers and prospective migrants to navigate.
For Indian professionals, the proposed fee adds to a series of changes affecting the traditional route from education and employment in the US to long-term residency. The H-1B programme has historically been a major pathway for Indian engineers, technology workers, researchers, financial professionals, and healthcare workers seeking employment in the US. But higher costs, tighter selection rules, and greater scrutiny are making the route more selective and unpredictable.
India-based IT consulting companies whose business models rely heavily on sending employees to US client sites are already facing the heat.
The proposed End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026 could add another layer of restrictions if enacted. The bill would call for a three-year pause on new H-1B visas, reduce the annual cap from 65,000 to 25,000 and introduce a minimum annual salary threshold of $200,000.
The shift is important for Indians because they account for more than 70 per cent of all H-1B visa beneficiaries. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 399,402 H-1B petitions in 2024, out of which Indian-born beneficiaries claimed 71 per cent.
More than 5.2 million people of Indian origin live in the US, according to recent estimates based on US Census data.
