Trump announces H-1B visa fee: Rules, exemptions, legal challenges and all FAQs answered

Representative Image credit: Reuters

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The Donald Trump-led administration announced on late Friday, i.e., September 19, that American companies seeking to hire foreign workers will now have to pay a USD 100,000 fee to the government to secure the visa for them. A proclamation, titled ‘Restriction on entry of certain nonimmigrant workers’ was signed by the US President. 

It said that while the H1B visa programme was brought into effect to invite temporary workers into the United States to “perform additive, high-skilled functions”, it has been deliberately “exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor”. As Trump’s order came into the spotlight, several tech firms in the US sent caution notices to their employees, advising them to stay in America. 

In a note accessed by Reuters, Amazon, a tech giant and a top beneficiary of H-1B visas, said, “If you have H-1B status and are in the US, stay in the country for now.” Microsoft sent a similar notice to its employees, urging them to stay in the United States for the foreseeable future. 

“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”, said the US Commerce Secretary. 

General Here are some FAQs related to H-1B visas:

1. What is an H-1B visa?

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows companies to hire high-skilled labour from foreign countries. 

2. What does the new order say?

To hire new foreign workers, US employers will have to pay an annual fee of USD 100,000 to the government for a visa petition, starting tomorrow, i.e., September 21, 2025. 

3. What about the existing H-1B visa holders?

According to a report by The New York Times, the rule is applicable to the new H-1B visa holders only. While the existing visa holders do not need to pay the fees, they need to return to America by September 21, in case they have been away for a period of 12 months. 

4. What about the visa holders who are away from the US?

If a foreign worker holding an H-1B visa is currently outside the United States and doesn’t return before September 21, 2025, it will be in the hands of the Secretary of Homeland Security to decide if they need to pay the fees or not.

5. Can Trump’s order be challenged legally?

Trump’s decision to impose an annual fee for H1B visa petitions is expected to face legal challenges. Doug Rand, a former senior official at US Citizenship and Immigration Services under President Joe Biden, questioned the legality of the policy. “Tying an entry ban to a fee, let alone a $100,000 fee, isn’t likely to survive five seconds in court”, as quoted by New York Times. 

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