H-1B Visa Annual Fee Increased: US President Donald Trump has made it more difficult for skilled professionals to enter the United States through an executive order. The annual fee for an H-1B visa has been raised to $100,000 (approximately ₹88 lakh). This has come as a major blow to Indians, as a large number of Indian professionals work and aspire to work in the US.
Add informalnewz.com as a Preferred Source
H-1B Visa Annual Fee Increased: The dream of working in the US has become even more expensive. This is because US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that restricts the entry of H-1B visa holders into the US and increases the visa application fee to $100,000 annually (approximately ₹88 lakh). This could be a major blow to Indian professionals. The H-1B program allows US companies to hire foreign professionals for high-skilled positions that cannot easily be filled by US citizens or permanent residents. Under the new order, companies will now have to pay $100,000 annually to the government for hiring a foreign professional, which is significantly higher than before.
Decision taken after discussions with large companies
At an event in the Oval Office with the President, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross stated that the $100,000 annual fee for the H-1B visa has been set, and all major companies support it, having been consulted beforehand. According to Ross, the government’s plan is for large tech companies and other major companies to hire American workers instead of bringing in foreign talent. He said that now, with the $100,000 fee to the government, plus paying the employee’s salary, hiring from abroad is simply not practical.
According to Howard Lutnick, the aim of this initiative is to encourage American companies to train and employ graduates from American universities, thus preventing them from hiring foreign workers and taking jobs away from local people. He stated that this is the prevailing policy, and all major companies are involved in it.
Will entry into the US now require more talent?
According to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, hiring foreign employees to work in the US will not be economically viable for companies, as they would first have to pay the government $100,000 before even paying the employees’ salaries. This decision is a major blow to the US tech sector, which heavily relies on skilled workers from countries like India and China. However, White House staff secretary Will Scharf emphasized that this policy is being implemented to ensure that only highly skilled foreign workers are brought to the US—those who cannot be replaced by American workers.
