Trump’s $100K H-1B visa fee takes effect on Sunday - Here’s who gets hit, who is exempt
President Trump's immigration plan has confused immigrant workers, prompting the White House to clarify that a new $100,000 visa fee applies only to new H-1B applicants, not current holders. The fee takes effect soon but may be extended based on national interest.
President Donald Trump’s latest immigration plan has sparked confusion among immigrant workers. Following which, the White House went on to clarify that the new $100,000 visa fee applies only to new applicants, not current H-1B holders.
The president on Friday, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick by his side, signed a proclamation that will require the new fee for what are known as H-1B visas — meant for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find hard to fill.
However there was no clarifiction around to whom it applies to and owing to which, many companies including Microsoft, JPMorgan , and Amazon, had responded by advising employees holding H-1B visas to remain in the United States. The tech giants also asked H-1B holders who were currently outside the country to re-enter the US by September 21.
The fee takes effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday. It is scheduled to expire after a year. But it could be extended if the government determines that is in the interest of the United States to keep it.
Who are exempt?
The White House in a social media post clarified that the fee only applies to new applicant and “does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to/from the United States”
“Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a posting on X. “This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders.”
Apart from that, the Trump’s proclamation also allows for case-by-case exemptions if in the national interest. This allows a potential window for certain companies or industries to seek a workaround from the new fee.
The move is the latest immigration reform by the Trump administration and will affect the technology industry in particular, as it relies heavily on H-1Bs. The administration argues that the revisions will bring more certainty to legitimate filings under the program by weeding out abuses.
(With inputs from AP, Reuters and Bloomberg)