New H-1B Rule: Trump Imposes $100,000 Fee, Indians Affected

New H-1B Rule: A proclamation imposing a $100,000 (more than Rs 88 lakh) fee on applicants for H-1B visas was signed by US President Donald Trump as part of his latest efforts to crack down on immigration. This move could potentially deal a serious blow to the technology sector, which heavily depends on skilled workers from China and India.

Trump claims that the action is intended to make sure that the individuals entering the nation are “actually very highly skilled” and do not take the place of American labor. “We require employees. This essentially guarantees that we will have excellent employees, which is exactly what we need,” he stated.

The H1B non-immigrant visa program is one of the “most abused visa” systems in the nation’s existing immigration system, according to White House staff secretary Will Scharf. “This proclamation will increase the cost of sponsoring H-1B applicants to $100,000 for businesses. This will guarantee that the individuals they are bringing in are genuinely highly skilled and cannot be replaced by American laborers,” he stated.

Impact on Indians:

Historically, the bulk of H-1B visa holders have been Indian. India accounted for 71% of all H-1B visas granted last year, making it the country with the highest number of recipients, according to government data, according to news agency Reuters. At 11.7%, China came in a far second.

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Amazon and its cloud computing arm, AWS, reportedly approved over 12,000 H-1B visas in the first half of 2025, while Microsoft and Meta Platforms approved over 5,000. Trump’s recent reforms will likely make it even harder for Indians to secure a US visa. Indians can apply for a Green Card, but they often wait longer. They must periodically renew their visas during this period, paying more than ₹88 lakh each time.

The US government is also introducing a more stringent citizenship test. Trump had instituted this during his 2020 presidency, but the Joe Biden administration scrapped it. Reports state that candidates must read 128 questions on US politics and history and correctly answer 12 out of 20 questions orally.