Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on H-1B visas sparks worries about ‘Indians in IT sector’

The Donald Trump administration will ask companies to pay a $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas.

United States President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation requiring companies to pay a $100,000 application fee per year for H-1B worker visas.

The signing of the proclamation on the H-1B visa by Donald Trump has sparked chatter on X. (Bloomberg)

“The Proclamation restricts entry for aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in specialty occupations in the H-1B program unless their petition is accompanied by a $100,000 payment,” elaborated a White House statement.

This immigration crackdown move has sparked much chatter on X, with many speculating that it will have a huge impact on Indian techies. Thousands of Indians, especially those working in the IT sector, enter the US each year with H-1B visas.

How did social media react?

An individual posted, “It's crazy to see this, but with jobs shrinking for new grads, I think the US needs it. The consequences will be great for India. I personally know great engineers on H-1B visas who can build great things. Still, they were just working for an American company in Silicon Valley, probably no more now with this uncertainty.”

Another added, “Since Trump couldn’t deter India directly, he’s now weaponising policy. The $100,000 annual H-1B fee disproportionately hits Indian professionals, who make up 70% of these visas. This is not reform, it’s a barrier aimed at weakening India’s global tech edge. The next target could be our IT sector itself. India must recognise this as economic warfare and prepare counter-measures urgently.”

A third expressed, “Shocking news for Indian techies!" A fourth wrote, “Indians just got nuked.”

Government on changes in H-1B policy:

“The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor,” read a part of the proclamation.

It continued, “Information technology (IT) firms in particular have prominently manipulated the H-1B system, significantly harming American workers in computer-related fields. The share of IT workers in the H-1B program grew from 32 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 to an average of over 65 percent in the last 5 fiscal years.”

The proclamation stated, "The entry into the United States of aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in a specialty occupation is restricted… except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000.”