3 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Aug 25, 2026 01:18 PM IST
US President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed hiking the H-1B visa fee for extremely expert international employees to over $100,000 and making the costs everlasting, escalating a controversial immigration measure that would have main implications for worldwide workers, together with Indians, at the same time as US courts proceed to listen to the matter of whether or not the elevated payment is authorized or not.
The payment, proposed by the US Division of Homeland Safety (DHS), was first briefly imposed by the Trump administration final 12 months, elevating the price of visas which might be closely relied on within the tech, schooling and analysis sectors. The momentary payment hike expires in September, one 12 months after it was levied, Reuters reported.
Court docket problem over $100,000 payment
The proposed hike comes as a federal choose in Boston struck down the $100,000 payment the Trump administration imposed on new H-1B visas, ruling that it constituted an illegal tax Congress by no means authorised. Nonetheless, an appeals courtroom is reviewing the authorized dispute.
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World · Immigration · India Focus
H-1B visa payment: from $2,000 to $103,265
The Trump administration needs to make a six-figure H-1B cost everlasting. This is how the associated fee escalated — and who would, and would not, pay it.
How the associated fee escalated
Earlier typical authorities charges
$2,000–$5,000
2025 proclamation payment Struck down
$100,000
New proposed payment Proposed
$103,265
Standing
Not last but — and nothing is payable below it at the moment.
Subsequent step
A 30-day public remark interval after the Aug 25 Federal Register discover.
If finalised
The payment would apply to cap-subject H-1B petitions, on high of all different relevant charges.
Who would pay — and who wouldn’t
+Would apply
New H-1B petitions topic to the annual cap
Superior-degree petitions which might be nonetheless cap-subject
Paid by the sponsoring employer, at submitting
–Wouldn’t apply
Petitions not topic to the cap
Universities & analysis organisations (cap-exempt)
Present H-1B renewals — per Reuters
Sure international college students already within the US — per Reuters
70%+
of H-1B individuals are Indian nationals — the group most uncovered to the proposed payment.
Not payable but: the proposal is not last and units no begin date; the sooner $100,000 payment was struck down by a courtroom, and additional authorized challenges are anticipated.
The payment wouldn’t apply to H-1B extensions, amendments or transfers for employees already counted in opposition to the cap. DHS frames it as a cost-recovery mechanism.
Sources: DHS / USCIS / Federal Register · Fragomen · Newsweek · Reuters · Reddy Neumann. Proposed rule launched Aug 24, 2026; a creating story.
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Trump administration seeks everlasting payment
Trump administration has proposed to make the elevated payment everlasting in its newest rule posted within the Federal Register on Monday. The deliberate payment hike, as per the brand new rule by the DHS, would make the H-1B visa payment of $103,265 everlasting, and it may very well be finalised by the tip of the 12 months.
What’s the H-1B visa programme?
The H-1B visa programme permits US employers to rent international employees with coaching in specialty fields, providing 65,000 visas yearly, together with one other 20,000 visas for employees with superior levels.
The H-1B visa is permitted for 3 to 6 years, Reuters reported. Earlier than the Trump administration imposed the elevated value for the programme, the standard charges for the H-1B visas ranged between $2,000 and $5,000.
Who could be exempt from the payment?
Nonetheless, the payment wouldn’t be utilized to visas granted to international residents who’re already in america on scholar visas, and so they account for a big proportion of recent H-1B recipients, or to renewals of present visas.
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Employers have already paid the payment
In keeping with courtroom filings, near 70 employers in america have paid the $100,000 payment on a complete of 85 visa purposes as of February, Reuters reported.
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