H-1B Application

The new H-1B visa fee and stricter US visa rules are prompting Chinese workers to explore Europe, seeking better opportunities, higher stability, and a more welcoming work environment

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said there will be a significant number of changes in the H1B visa process before February 2026, when the new fee of USD 100,000 goes into effect, as he described as just wrong the idea of inexpensive tech consultants coming into the country and bringing their families. The Trump administration this month announced a one-time fee of USD 100,000 for new H1B work visas, an order that will impact Indian professionals looking to work in the US on the temporary visas. Standing behind US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office when the H1B proclamation was signed, Lutnick had then said that the USD 100,000 will be an annual fee for all H1B visas, including renewals and first-time applicants. Amid widespread panic and chaos, the Trump administration clarified that the new fee requirement for H1B visas will not apply to current visa holders and is a one-time payment applicable only to new petitions. This procedure and process goes into effect in Febru

New USCIS rule aims to prioritize high-skilled, high-paid workers in H-1B visa lottery

Nasscom further said that with the fee being applicable from 2026 onward, companies have time to further expand skilling programs in the US and enhance local hiring

Trump administration clarified that visa quotas are not changing; the annual limit remains 65,000 regular visas plus 20,000 for advanced degree holders from US universities

India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71 per cent of approved beneficiaries, while China was a distant second at 11.7 per cent, according to government data

The initial registration period for the H-1B visas, the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, for fiscal 2025 closes on March 22, a federal agency has said. The H-1B visa 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. The initial registration period for the most sought-after H-1B visas for foreign guest workers for fiscal 2025 closes at 12 noon Eastern Time (9:30 pm IST) on March 22, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Monday. During this period, prospective petitioners and legal representatives must use an online account of US Citizenship and Immigration Services to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary. Online account users will also be ab

The US has announced a steep increase in fees for various categories of non-immigrant visas like the H-1B, L-1 and EB-5, the most popular among Indians. The fee hike, first after 2016, will come into force from April 1. The H-1B visa 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. The EB-5 programme, launched by the US government in 1990, enables high-net-worth foreign investors to obtain a US visa for themselves and their families by investing a minimum of USD 5,00,000 in a US business that helps create 10 jobs for American workers. To come into force from April 1, the new H-1B application visa fee, which is form I-129, has been increased from USD 460 to USD 780. The H-1B registration will increase from USD 10 to USD 215, but from next year. The fee for L-1 vis

This limit, known as the H-1B cap, is currently set at 85,000, with an additional 20,000 visas reserved for individuals who have earned a Master's degree or higher from a US institution

The move would provide another chance to hundreds of Indian IT professionals who could not make it in the first random selection

The US issues up to 85,000 H-1B visas each year. Most of the nearly 600,000 H-1B visa holders are from India and China

The proposed changes in H-1B application selection process are prospective in nature but will have a minor adverse impact on the margins of Indian IT services companies, ICRA said

The Trump administration has announced a new policy that makes very tough the procedure of issuing H-1B visas to those to be employed at one or more third-party worksites