By Sumaila Zaman

Copyright india

US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation to raise the fee for H-1B visas to a staggering USD 100000 annually a move described by American lawmakers and community leaders as reckless and unfortunate. This major development could adversely affect Indian professionals in the US. However a White House official clarified on Saturday that the H-1B visa fee of USD 100000 would apply only to 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 USD 100000 each year for any employee working on the visa for up to six years the White House official was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
When did the Trump administration announce the H-1B visa fee increase?
The clarification came a day after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation raising the fee on the visas used by companies to hire workers from overseas including from India to live and work in the US. This move has sparked concerns about its effects on Indian tech professionals and remittances with 71-72% of H-1B visas going to Indians.
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) which serves as the highest organization of the technology industry in India has responded to the order issued by the White House on the H-1B visa fee. According to NASSCOM they are still reviewing all the details of the order. The association further noted that such changes could impact the innovation ecosystem and job market in the US which would include the impact on Indian citizens with H-1B visas in the US and also Indian technology services companies.
Currently the H-1B visa fee ranges from about USD 2000 to USD 5000 depending on employer size and other costs. The visas are valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years.
Who is the largest company using H-1B visas after Trump’s fee hike?
According to the USCIS website for fiscal year 2025 (data up to June 30 2025) Amazon tops the list with 10044 approved H-1B visas.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5505 approved H-1B visas in 2025 after Amazon (10044 workers on H-1B visas) according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5189) Meta (5123) Apple (4202) Google (4181) Deloitte (2353) Infosys (2004) Wipro (1523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
In his proclamation Trump said the H-1B visa programme was created to bring temporary workers into the US to perform additive high-skilled functions but it has been deliberately exploited to replace rather than supplement American workers with lower-paid lower-skilled labour.
The abuse of the H-1B programme is also a national security threat. Domestic law enforcement agencies have identified and investigated H-1B-reliant outsourcing companies for engaging in visa fraud conspiracy to launder money… and other illicit activities to encourage foreign workers to come to the US” he said.
Trump said that it is necessary to impose higher costs on companies seeking to use the H-1B programme to address the abuse of that programme while still permitting companies to hire the best of the best temporary foreign workers.