Relief For Indian Techies, Students As US Announces Exemptions To H-1B Visa Fees
The Trump administration has clarified doubts about the H-1B visa fees of $100,000 that was announced by the US President last month.
NEW DELHI: In a major relief for Indian professionals and students in the United States, the Trump administration has clarified that recent international graduates sponsored for H-1B status while already in the country will not be required to pay the steep $100,000 fee introduced last month.
The officials stated that existing H-1B visa holders will not be required to pay the fees announced last month.
The clarification comes after weeks of confusion following Trump’s proclamation, which mandated the steep annual fee, equivalent to around ₹90 lakh, for employers sponsoring technically skilled foreign workers.
The fee was scheduled to take effect from 12.01 am ET on September 21, triggering panic among Indian workers, US employers, and immigration attorneys.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has said the $100,000 fee will not apply to anyone already in the United States on a valid visa, including F-1 student visa holders, L-1 intra-company transferees, and current H-1B visa holders seeking renewals or extensions.
The proclamation “does not apply to any previously issued and currently valid H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. ET on September 21, 2025,” the agency clarified.
It stated that H-1B holders could continue traveling in and out of the United States without restriction.
The USCIS confirmed that existing foreign nationals applying for a change of status —such as international students on F-1 visas transitioning to H-1B jobs —will not have to pay the new fee.
The announcement comes as a major reprieve for Indian tech professionals. There are around 300,000 Indian workers currently in the US on H-1B visas, mostly employed in the technology and services industries.
Indians account for about 70% of all new H-1B visa allocations, followed by Chinese nationals at 11–12%, according to US administration data.
The H-1B visa allows highly skilled workers to live and work in the United States for up to three years at a time, with a possible extension of another three years. Each year, 85,000 new visas are awarded through a lottery system.
Previously, visa application costs ranged between $215 and $5,000, depending on company size and category.
Experts warned that the fee could “effectively kill the H-1B programme” by making it unaffordable for many employers and startups.
Indian IT companies such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Wipro have historically used the H-1B visa to deploy engineers to US client sites. American firms like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google also depend heavily on H-1B workers, many of whom are Indian graduates from US universities.
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