US mulls steep fee hike across visa categories

New Delhi, January 4

The US government has proposed a steep hike in the fees for immigration and naturalisation benefits, the maximum jump for employment-based categories that are availed of heavily by Indians such as the H-1B temporary work visas and intra-company transfers.

The rates were last revised in 2016 but are open for challenge for the next 60 days after which they will be notified.

The fee for pre-registration for H-1B visas is proposed to go up by a massive 2,050 per cent (from $10 to $215), 70 per cent (from $460 to $780) for H-1 category that includes H-1B; 201 per cent (from $460 to $1,385) for L visa for intra-company transfers to the US; and 129 per cent for O category for workers with extraordinary skills. EB-5 vias for investors and entrepreneurs — also called the millionaires’ visa — will go up by 204 per cent (from $3,675 to $11,160).

H-1B charges may see massive jump

2,050% ($10 to $215) hike proposed for H-1B pre-registration fee

70% (from $460 to $780) for H-1 visa category, including H1B

201% (from $460 to $1,385) for L visa (intra-company transfers)

However, the charges for premium processing of visas will remain unchanged at $ 2,500, according to a notification by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday in the US Federal Register. The US grants around 85,000 visas under the H-1B programme, and around 75 per cent of these visas go to Indians. “A comprehensive review determined that the agency’s current fees, which have remained unchanged since 2016, fall far short of recovering the full cost of agency operations,” said an official statement. If the proposed hikes are notified, the income from visas will increase from $3.28 billion in 2022-2023 to $5.2 billion. The present fee, said the DHS, covers only a small portion of the actual expenses incurred in grant of visas.