H-1B visa new rules: White House says $100,000 fee only for new applicants

The H-1B fee is likely to face legal challenges. But if it survives, companies that hire skilled international workers would have to pay $100,000 each year

The Donald Trump administration has clarified that the new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas does not apply to current visa holders and is a one-time payment only for new petitions.

The clarification is a cause of huge relief for thousands of panic-stricken professionals working in the US, including those from India, who are concerned about being impacted by the new rule.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in a statement on Saturday that President Trump's new H-1B visa requirement applies only to new, prospective petitions that have not yet been filed.

H-1B petitions submitted before the effective proclamation date of September 21 are not affected. Those visa holders currently outside the US also do not need to pay the fee for reentering the country.

White House Spokesperson Taylor Rogers told PTI that "President Trump promised to put American workers first, and this commonsense action does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down wages." "It also gives certainty to American businesses that actually want to bring high-skilled workers to our great country but have been trampled on by abuses of the system," she said.

A White House official told PTI that the $100,000 fee is a one-time charge that applies only to the petition. "It only applies to new visas, not renewals or current visa holders. It will first apply in the upcoming lottery cycle. It does not apply to 2025 lottery winners." In a memorandum, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow wrote that the proclamation -- 'Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers' -- issued by Trump on Friday only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed.

The proclamation does not apply to individuals who "are the beneficiaries of petitions that were filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation, are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or are in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas".

"All officers of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall ensure that their decisions are consistent with this guidance. The proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to or from the United States," the memo said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said on X that "to be clear", the $100,000 is not an annual but a one-time fee that applies only to the petition.

"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; whatever ability they have to do that is not impacted by yesterday's proclamation," she said.

Leavitt added that the proclamation applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders and will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle.

The clarification sent a huge wave of relief among Indian professionals on H-1B visas in the US, who had been gripped with panic, fear and concern after Trump signed the proclamation.

When asked if the hiked fee would apply to the H-1B visa holders already in the country, for renewals or for those applying for the first time, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had said, "Renewals, first times, the company needs to decide. Is that person valuable enough to have a $100,000 a year payment to the government? Or they should head home, and they should go hire an American." "It can be a total of six years, so $100,000 a year. So either the person is very valuable to the company and America, or they're going to depart, and the company is going to hire an American.

"That's the point of immigration -- hire Americans and make sure the people coming in are the top people. Stop the nonsense of letting people just come into this country on these visas that were given away for free. The President is crystal clear. Valuable people only for America. Stop the nonsense," Lutnick had said.

Widespread panic, confusion and concern had gripped Indians in the US on H-1B visas in the hours after Trump's order to impose the fee, with many cancelling travel plans at the last minute while waiting to board flights to the homeland and several others already in India scrambling to return.

Immigration attorneys and companies sounded the alarm for H-1B visa holders or their family members currently outside the US for work or vacation, asking them to return to the US before the proclamation kicked in on September 21.

"H-1B visa holders who are out of the US on business or vacation will get stranded unless they get in before midnight September 21. H-1Bs still in India may have already missed the deadline, as there is no way a direct flight from India will get in time," eminent New York-based immigration attorney Cyrus Mehta had said in a post on X.

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

Under a Congressional-mandated cap, the United States can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas every year and another 20,000 to those who have obtained master's and higher degrees from the US. The current H1B visa fee ranges from about $2,000 to $5,000, depending on employer size and other costs.

The initial registration period for the 2027 fiscal year H-1B cap is expected to open around March next year. Last year, there was a $ 215 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary.