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.”

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.

“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.”

On Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, had questioned the hike in visa fees.

“The increase from $1,000 to $100,000 is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of disruption for families. The Government hopes these disruptions can be addressed suitably by US authorities,” the MEA said.

Meanwhile, the White House fact sheet said, “the new rule restricts the entry for aliens as non-immigrants to perform services in specialty occupations in the H-1B program unless their petition is accompanied by a $100,000 payment.”

The Secretary of Homeland Security has been asked to restrict approvals for H-1B petitions from aliens currently outside the US that are not accompanied by the payment, except in cases deemed to be in the national interest.

It has also been directed to initiate rulemaking to prioritise only high-skilled and high-paid H-1B workers.