US’ new H-1B visa fee will not apply to existing holders, White House says
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A new annual fee for H-1B visas in the US will not impact current visa holders re-entering the country or those renewing their visas.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- New US$100,000 H-1B visa fee starts on Sept 21, affecting new applicants, not renewals or existing holders re-entering the US.
- Nasscom warns the fee, imposed by President Donald Trump's order, could disrupt Indian technology companies' US operations.
- Companies like Microsoft advised H-1B employees to stay in the US, causing visa holders to rush back.
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WASHINGTON – A new US$100,000 (S$128,000) fee for H-1B visas
“This is not an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies only to the petition,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt posted on X on Sept 20.
A petition is a request by a company to bring a skilled worker from another country into the US.
Ms Leavitt added that current H-1B visa holders who are outside the country will not be charged US$100,000 to re-enter the US.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sept 19 said the fee would be paid annually but added that details were “still being considered”.
Some companies including Microsoft, JPMorgan and Amazon, responded to the Sept 19 announcement by advising employees holding H-1B visas to remain in the US.
A Goldman Sachs internal memo seen by Reuters on Sept 20 urged employees with such visas to exercise caution on international travel.
Ms Leavitt said on X that H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country as they normally would. She added that the new fee would apply only in the next H-1B lottery round and not to current visa holders or renewals.
The White House said the fee is imposed to level the playing field for American workers which it noted are “replaced with lower-paid foreign labour”.
The proclamation imposing the new fee on H-1B visa applications, which was signed by President Donald Trump on Sept 19, could disrupt the global operations of Indian technology services companies that deploy skilled professionals to the US, Indian IT industry body Nasscom said on Sept 20.
In a fact sheet distributed on Sept 20, the White House said it would allow an H-1B visa application without the US$100,000 fee on a case-by-case basis “if in the national interest”.
The fact sheet said the share of IT workers with H-1B visas has risen from 32 per cent in FY 2003 to over 65 per cent in recent years.
Mr Trump’s proclamation requires the departments of Labour and Homeland Security to issue joint guidance for verification, enforcement, audits as well as penalties.
It directs the Labour Secretary to start a rulemaking to “revise the prevailing wage levels for the H-1B programme” and “prioritise high-skilled, high-paid H-1B workers”.
The Sept 19 announcement sparked concerns among employees across swaths of corporate America.
On popular Chinese social media app Rednote, many H-1B holders shared stories of rushing back to the US – some just hours after landing abroad – fearing they would be subject to the US$100,000 fee.
The White House said Mr Trump’s move is designed to address threats to US national security.
“President Trump is imposing higher costs on companies seeking to use the H-1B programme in order to address the abuse of the programme, stop the undercutting of wages and protect our national security,” it added. REUTERS
