- World
- Sep 20
Trump hikes H-1B visa fee to $100,000
• US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that will raise the fee for H1-B visas to $100,000 annually on September 19.
• The fee hike will come into effect from September 21.
• The move is going to significantly impact Indian technology workers who are hired by tech companies and others on H-1B visas.
• Nearly three out of every four H-1B visa holders are Indian citizens.
What is H-1B visa?
• The H-1B program allows companies and other employers in the US to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in a directly related specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the US.
• H-1B specialty occupations may include fields such as architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts.
• H-1B status is valid up to three years and extendable up to another three years.
• The H-1B classification has an annual numerical limit (cap) of 65,000 new statuses/visas each financial year, with certain deductions.
• An additional 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who have earned a master’s degree or higher from a US institution of higher education are exempt from the cap.
• According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Amazon had 10,044 workers using H-1B visas as of June 2025.
• Coming in at the second spot was Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with 5,505 H-1B visas approved.
• Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
• The US approved approximately 400,000 H-1B visas in 2024, two-thirds of which were renewals.
Why the Trump administration made this move?
• The H-1B non-immigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions.
• Some employers, using practices now widely adopted by entire sectors, have abused the H-1B statute and its regulations to artificially suppress wages, resulting in a disadvantageous labour market for American citizens, while at the same time making it more difficult to attract and retain the highest skilled subset of temporary workers, with the largest impact seen in critical science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
• The number of foreign STEM workers in the US has more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, increasing from 1.2 million to almost 2.5 million, while overall STEM employment has only increased 44.5 per cent during that time.
• Among computer and math occupations, the foreign share of the workforce grew from 17.7 per cent in 2000 to 26.1 per cent in 2019.
• The key facilitator for this influx of foreign STEM labour has been the abuse of the H-1B visa.
• The share of IT workers in the H-1B program grew from 32 per cent in 2003 to an average of over 65 per cent in the last five fiscal years.
• In addition, some of the most prolific H-1B employers are now consistently IT outsourcing companies.
• Further, the abuse of the H-1B visa program has made it even more challenging for college graduates trying to find IT jobs, allowing employers to hire foreign workers at a significant discount to American workers.
Gold Card
• Trump also signed an executive order entitled ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for foreigners of extraordinary ability who are committed to supporting the United States.
• Under the Gold Card programme, individuals who can pay $1 million to the US Treasury, or $2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, will get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card in the country.