U.S. further relaxes $100,000 H-1B visa fee norms

In a further relaxation of its rules relating to the new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, the U.S. government has said that the fee will not apply to applications for a change of status or an extension of stay in the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump had on September 19 signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas. Hours later, his government clarified that the new fee would only apply to new applications, and would be one-time. 

Guidelines issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department on Monday reiterated this, saying that the proclamation “does not apply to any previously issued and currently valid H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025”.

“The Proclamation also does not apply to a petition filed at or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025, that is requesting an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for an alien inside the United States where the alien is granted such amendment, change, or extension,” the guidelines added.

Notably, they also said that the proclamation does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa from travelling to and from the U.S. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce had last week filed a lawsuit challenging the $100,000 fee, saying it overrides existing provisions in current laws that apply to the H-1B programme. 

In particular, the chamber said that the fee overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the H-1B programme. 

The H-1B visa, and any related fees, are of particular interest to Indians since they are the largest beneficiaries of this visa programme. 

While the U.S. government does not share data on the number of H-1B visa holders currently in the U.S., other sources, such as FWD.us, an immigration and criminal justice reform advocacy body co-founded by Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, say that there were 7.3 lakh H-1B visa-holders in the U.S. as of January of this year. Of these, about 70% were Indian. 

Further, as per data with the USCIS, Tata Consultancy Services had 5,505 H-1B visas approved in 2025 as of end-June, the second-highest globally that year, after Amazon (10,044). 

Other Indian companies that have significantly benefited from the H-1B programme include Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).