E-Paper
Why new H-1B visa announcement comes as a relief for Indian techies, students
The HI-B visa allows highly-skilled workers to reside and work in the US for up to three years at a time, also providing for a three-year extension.
United States on Tuesday issued a clarification regarding the $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications. The President Donald Trump-led administration stated that recent international graduates sponsored for H-1B status while already in the country would not be required to pay the fee. The H-1B visa allows highly-skilled workers to reside and work in the US for up to three years at a time, also providing for a possible extension for up to three years.
The clarification from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) came as a major relief to Indian tech professionals and students in the US, who form the backbone of the H-1B program. Around 300,000 Indian workers currently in the US on H-1B visas, mostly employed in technology and services industries.
How does the fee impact Indian workers?
Indians form a major chunk of about 70% of all news H-1B visa allocations, followed by Chinese nationals, who account for about 11-12%, according to data by the US administration. 85,000 new visas are awarded through a lottery system under the program each year.
The visa has also played a key role in making Indian-Americans one of the most educated and highest-earning communities in America, according to researchers behind The Other One Percent, a seminal study on Indian-Americans.
H-1B visa holders, including dependents, make up around one-fourth of the 3 million Indian-Americans, with Indian IT companies using the program to deploy engineers to US client sites. American companies also recruit heavily on the basis of the H-1B visas, taking many Indian students from US universities.
Foreign nationals seeking change in visa status not liable to pay H-1B fee
The existing foreign nationals who are seeking a change in visa status will not have to pay the new $100,000 fee, the USCIS confirmed.
This means that those foreign nationals who travel or have travelled to US on a different visa – for example F-1 for international students and L-1 for international companies – will not have to pay the $100,000 fee if they switch to H-1B while in the US. They can also re-enter the US on the H-1B and would not be fined. The exception also extends to current H-1B visa holders seeking renewals or extensions.
The USCIS had earlier clarified that the new visa fee 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 visa application costs previously ranged between $215 and $5,000, according to the company size and category. The new fee of $100,000 is 20 to 100 times higher, thus exceeding the median annual salary of many new H-1B workers, according to an analysis by Hindustan Times.
