Trump’s $100,000 annual H1B visa fee applies only to new visa applicants

New Delhi: As US President Donald Trump’s new H1B visa policy comes into force, requiring a $100,000 annual fee for each application, it is learnt that this applies only to new visas and will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle. It will not apply for renewals or current visa holders or the 2025 lottery winners, and “this is a one-time fee,” White House official told WION.

The order, announced on Friday, comes into force from 21st September, Sunday (US time). At the signing of the order, Trump said, “Companies need to decide if a foreign worker is valuable enough to pay $100,000 per year to the U.S. government—if not, that worker will have to head home.” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, present at the announcement, emphasised the need to focus on American jobs. The announcement is seen as shocking for India, as over 70% of beneficiaries of the H1B visas are Indian nationals. Major US companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta rely heavily on H-1B visas.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers, in response to a WION question, said, “President Trump promised to put American workers first, and this commonsense action does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down wages”, adding, “It also gives certainty to American businesses who actually want to bring high-skilled workers to our great country but have been trampled on by abuses of the system.”

Reacting to the H1b Visa fee hike, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that “the full implications of the measure are being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry,” pointing that “skilled talent mobility and exchanges have contributed enormously to technology development, innovation, economic growth, competitiveness and wealth creation in the United States and India.”

It also said that the measure is “likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families” and the Indian government hopes “that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities”. The Indian government directed its missions to assist nationals rushing back to the US amid the initial confusion over how the order impacts existing visa holders. NASSCOM, India’s IT industry body, highlighted business uncertainty from the one-day deadline and potential disruptions to onshore projects.