WASHINGTON (Kashmir English): US President Donald Trump has announced a $100,000 (about Rs 8.8 million) fee for the H-1B visa in his latest move against immigration.
President Trump, while signing the executive orders, said, “We want the best workers, and this measure ensures that only the truly highly skilled come here.”
According to experts, the move could be a major blow to the technology sector, as this visa is mostly available to skilled people from India and China.
According to US government data, 71% of H-1B visas were granted to Indian citizens last year, while China came in second with a share of only 11.7%.
Big companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta recruit thousands of employees through this visa.
Amazon and its subsidiary AWS alone were approved for more than 12,000 visas in the first six months of 2025.
According to experts, the steep increase in the fee will be the biggest challenge for Indian candidates, as they have to renew their visas repeatedly during the long wait to get a green card, and each time they have to pay this hefty fee.
White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf said the H-1B program is one of the most abused visas in the country’s immigration system.
He said the new fee is intended to ensure that those coming to the United States are truly highly skilled and do not replace American workers.
What is an H-1B visa?
The H-1B visa is a temporary work permit in the United States that was introduced in 1990. It allows foreign experts to be hired for jobs that are hard to fill in fields such as science, technology, engineering, and math.
This visa is initially granted for three years, which can be extended for a maximum of six years.
The US government has also announced the reimposition of a tough test on those applying for citizenship, which President Trump started in his first term but was scrapped by President Biden.
