Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee only for new applicants, existing holders not affected

The US has clarified that the newly announced rule increasing H-1B visa application fees will not apply to people who already hold H-1B visas or are seeking renewals.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday posted an explanation about the new rule on social media platform X, saying, “This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders.”

This mean almost 4.40 lakh Indian students who were hoping to transition to a H-1B visa face an uncertain future. An H-1B visa enables foreign workers to work in the US.

H-1B visa enables foreign workers to work in the US.

On Friday, President Donald Trump announced a significant fee hike for H-1B visa applications, raising it to $100,000 (approximately Rs 86 lakh). The White House posted a fact sheet saying the move was aimed to “curb abuses that displace US workers and undermine national security.”

Leavitt further explained the finer points, saying this $100,000 was a one-time fee applicable only to future applicants, and not an annual charge.

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“Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter. H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would,” Leavitt added. “Whatever ability they have to do that is not impacted by yesterday’s proclamation.”

Indians have made up 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in the recent years, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

There are almost 7.30 lakh H-1B visa holders in the US and another 5 lakh people holding dependent H4 visas that allow the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a principal H-1B visa holder.

Secondly, many international students also count on the H-1B visa to transition from pursuing academics to a career in the US. Data released by the US Department of Homeland Security shows there were 4,22,335 Indian students in the US in 2024. Their options of getting H-1B visas now stand reduced.

The United States awards 85,000 H-1B visas per year on a lottery system, with India accounting for around three-quarters of the recipients.

On Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs questioned the visa fee that Trump had raised to $1,00,000, saying, “It was likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families. The government hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities.”

Meanwhile, the White House factsheet said, “The new rule restricts entry for aliens as non-immigrants to perform services in specialty occupations in the H-1B programme unless their petition is accompanied by a $1,00,000 payment.”

The Secretary of Homeland Security has been asked to restrict approvals for petitions from aliens, who are currently outside the United States, that are not accompanied by the payment, and allow only case-by-case exemptions in national interest. The Secretary of Homeland Security has also been asked to initiate rulemaking to prioritise only highly-skilled and highly-paid H-1B workers.