Trump imposes steep $100K fee on H1B visas; Indian professionals to pay price

In a move that is expected to adversely impact Indian professionals in the US, President Donald Trump on Saturday signed a proclamation raising the H-1B visa fee to a staggering $1,00,000 annually.

Currently, the H-1B visa fee ranges from about $2,000 to $5,000 per application, depending on employer size and other costs. The H-1B visas, which are very popular among Indian tech professionals, are valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years.

Indian applicants account for nearly three-fourths of all visas issued under the category. For Indian technology workers, engineers and researchers, the fee hike signified a substantial barrier to entry and could alter the calculus for both employers and employees, said an immigration expert.

The proclamation, ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’, described H-1B visa abuse as a “national security threat”, citing fraud, money laundering and organised crime by outsourcing firms. It said it was one of the most consequential changes to America’s immigration system in recent years.

Trump said the H-1B visa programme was created to bring temporary workers into the US to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it had been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour. On whether the technology CEOs, who hired foreign workers on H1-B visas, were concerned about the new move, Trump said they were going to be “very happy”.

Immigration attorneys and companies have asked the H-1B visa holders or their family members currently outside America for work or vacation to return within the next 24 hours or risk being stranded and denied entry into the US after the proclamation comes into effect from 12.01 am on September 21.

The proclamation mentioned that information technology (IT) firms, in particular, had “prominently manipulated the H-1B system, significantly harming American workers in computer-related fields”.

The Trump administration argued that the new measure was aimed at protecting American workers, discouraging companies from relying on foreign labour at the expense of domestic hiring, and also ensuring that only highly skilled professionals were brought into the country. Officials said the sharply higher fee would compel companies to evaluate whether sponsoring foreign employees was economically viable, while simultaneously raising wage standards for those who qualified.

The White House, quoting a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said that among college graduates aged 22 to 27 years, computer science and computer engineering majors were facing some of the highest unemployment rates in the country at 6.1 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively. The figures are more than double the unemployment rates of recent biology and art history graduates.

Indian professionals are expected to be hit the hardest. With each visa now costing employers $1,00,000 annually, US companies may drastically cut back on sponsoring Indian talent. Experts said this could lead to fewer opportunities for young Indian graduates and mid-career professionals who have traditionally seen the US as the most attractive destination for high-end jobs.

Industry body Nasscom flagged concerns over the September 21 deadline, saying it created considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals and students across the world. “Adjustments of this nature can potentially have ripple effects on America’s innovation ecosystem and the wider job economy,” it said.