Interest in STEM courses among U.S. residents has grown at a much slower pace than among non-residents.
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Foreign Institutional Investors bought equities worth ₹390.74 crore on a net basis on September 19, 2025, according to exchange data. File
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The White House said that President Donald Trump’s new $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications will apply only to new cases, not to existing holders reentering the United States. The clarification, conveyed to 5WH by a senior administration official, came after the order sparked panic among current H-1B workers worried they would be forced to pay to return.

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News of the proclamation set off a scramble across the Indian H-1B community, with workers rushing to airports in hopes of getting back into the United States before the measure took effect. Immigration lawyers reported a surge of frantic calls from clients fearing they would be locked out or saddled with the hefty new levy, underscoring the uncertainty that followed the announcement.

“Fee ($100,000) is only for new H-1B (applicants). Current H1B will not have to pay to return to the U.S.,” a senior administration official told 5WH. Such an assurance from the Trump Administration may calm immediate anxieties, but leaves broader uncertainty over the future of skilled immigration.

Mr. Trump signed the executive order on Friday (September 19, 2025), arguing the $100,000 annual charge on new H-1B petitions would curb abuses by outsourcing firms that replace U.S. workers with cheaper foreign labour. The order also directs federal agencies to raise prevailing wage levels and prioritise high-skilled, high-paid applicants, part of what the White House described as an effort to “put American workers first”.

Indian nationals, who account for more than 70% of H-1B approvals in recent years, are expected to feel the sharpest impact of the new fee, observers say.

While the exemption eased immediate fears for thousands already in the United States, attorneys noted that future applicants and dependents could face steep costs and closer scrutiny as agencies implement the order.

The White House pointed to large tech and outsourcing firms that laid off thousands of American employees while securing fresh approvals for foreign workers. One company, officials said, received more than 5,000 H-1B slots in fiscal 2025 even as it cut about 15,000 jobs. Another was cleared for nearly 1,700 H-1B workers while laying off 2,400 U.S. staff in Oregon. A third reduced its American workforce by 27,000 since 2022 while obtaining more than 25,000 H-1B approvals over the same period.

Administration officials also cited labour statistics to argue that the program has distorted the U.S. job market. Unemployment among recent computer science graduates stood at 6.1% and 7.5% for computer engineering graduates — more than double the rates for biology or art history majors. Meanwhile, the number of foreign STEM workers in the United States more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, while overall STEM employment grew by only 44.5%.

Announcing the measure, Mr. Trump said the fee would “protect American workers” and ensure only “valuable people” are brought into the country. “We need workers, we need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that’s what’s going to happen,” he told reporters at the White House.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick argued the policy would end the practice of companies training lower-paid foreign workers at Americans’ expense. “No more will these Big Tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers,” Mr. Lutnick said. “Train Americans, stop bringing in people to take our jobs”.

The proclamation requires employers to provide proof of payment before petitions are approved. The Departments of State and Homeland Security will verify compliance and deny entry for non-payment. Limited exemptions may be granted if hiring is deemed in the national interest.

The $100,000 fee applies for the life of a visa, which is three years; companies could pay as much as $200,000 over six years for a single worker. Mr. Lutnick said the policy was designed to force employers to weigh whether a foreign employee was “valuable enough” to justify the expense or whether it made more sense to “go hire an American”.

The order is set to run for 12 months unless extended. It also directs the Department of Labour to initiate rulemaking to revise prevailing wage levels and the Department of Homeland Security to reprioritize admissions toward the “highest-skilled and highest-paid” applicants.

Immigration lawyers warned of confusion as agencies roll out guidance, saying companies will face hard choices between absorbing steep costs or scaling back hiring. Advocacy groups cautioned that the policy could discourage talented graduates from pursuing careers in the United States, while business associations said they feared collateral damage to innovation.

Senior Administration officials said that the levy applies only to new H-1B applications, not to existing visa holders reentering the country. This assurance may calm immediate anxieties but leaves broader uncertainty over the future of skilled immigration.

This article is published in an arrangement with 5WH.

Published – September 20, 2025 10:57 pm IST

Washington DC:

Amid the ongoing debate over H-1B visas in the United States, the prospective applicants and their employers are bracing for the intricate costs tied to the coveted work permit, starting from fiscal year 2025. The H-1B program allows US-based companies to bring in skilled workers from abroad into certain industries, but it comes with hefty fees that vary depending on the type of petition being filed and the status of the employer.

Moreover, a new rule also came into effect in 2025 which will allow entrepreneurs to sponsor themselves for the H1B visa. This means that entrepreneurs establishing a tech company in the US can self-sponsor, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for the visa, such as having specialised knowledge.

Till now, individuals were not considered eligible for H-1B visas unless they could demonstrate employment with a sponsoring organisation. It made getting an employment permit difficult for entrepreneurs who wanted to launch their ventures independently. 

H-1B Visa Application Fee

Registration Fee: To be part of the H-1B lottery, applicants are required to pay a registration fee of $10, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2024. This marks the first step for prospective applicants during the initial registration period, which typically occurs in March each year.

Filing Fees: Further, the employers have to pay $460 as a base filing fee for all H-1B petitions. To top it, an anti-fraud fee of $500 is mandatory for all initial and change of employer petitions, to prevent fraud and misuse of the H-1B program.

Employer Surcharge: Companies with more than 50 employees, half of whom hold H-1B or L-1 visas, are required to pay a $4,000 fee under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016. This surcharge remains in effect until September 30 2025.

Premium Processing (Optional): Employers who are in a rush to hire an overseas employee can opt to expedite the processing of their H-1B petitions to just 15 calendar days by paying a premium processing fee of $2,805. This service is a necessity for critical hires in time-sensitive industries.

Who Pays What?

In the H-1B visa application process, the majority of the financial burden typically falls on the shoulders of the employer. An additional $4,000 employer fee also lies squarely with them. However, there are specific rules through which visa stamping and interview-related fees may be passed on to the employees.

Total Estimated Costs

Here’s an estimated cost breakdown of the total cost of applying for an H-1B visa:

For companies not subjected to the additional $4,000 fee — $10 (Registration Fee) + $460 (Base Filing Fee) + $500 (Anti-Fraud Fee) = $970

For companies subjected to the additional $4,000 fee– $10 (Registration Fee) + $460 (Base Filing Fee) + $500 (Anti-Fraud Fee) + $4,000 (Additional Employer Fee) = $4,970

For Premium Processing– A $2,805 is added for expedited processing, bringing the total for employers opting for premium processing to $3,775 or $7,775, depending on employer status.

Debate Over H-1b Visa In US

Three weeks ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the debate on the H-1B visa program has intensified, literally creating divisions in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.

Indians are the main beneficiaries of the H-1B visas, which bring in the best of the talent and brains from across the world. Highly skilled professionals from India walk away with the overwhelming number of H-1B visas – which is Congressional mandated 65,0000 every year and another 20,000 for those who received higher education from the US.

President-elect Donald Trump has come out in support of the H-1B, and so have two of his close confidants, Tesla owner Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, both of whom have been tasked to head the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.

However, they are facing a backlash from the supporters of Mr Trump who argued that this is eating away at the jobs of Americans. Moreover, on Thursday, influential Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders also asserted that the two close confidants of Trump are wrong.

“Elon Musk and a number of other billionaire tech company owners have argued that this federal programme is vital to our economy because of the scarcity of highly skilled American engineers and other tech workers. I disagree.

“The main function of the H-1B visa programme and other guest worker initiatives is not to hire ‘the best and the brightest’, but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad. The cheaper the labour they hire, the more money the billionaires make,” Sanders said on Thursday.