In what could be considered as a major relief to the Indians, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has clarified once again that existing visa holders would not need to pay USD 100,000 H-1B fee that was recently imposed by the Trump administration.
In its new guidelines, the proclamation applies to new H-1B petitions "filed at or after 12:01 am eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025, on behalf of beneficiaries who are outside the United States and do not have a valid H-1B visa." It also clarified that those applying for a change of status inside the US also won't be needed to pay the hefty amount.
"The Proclamation also does not apply to a petition filed at or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025, that is requesting an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for an alien inside the United States where the alien is granted such amendment, change, or extension," the guidelines read.
"Further, an alien beneficiary of such petition will not be considered to be subject to the payment if he or she subsequently departs the United States and applies for a visa based on the approved petition and/or seeks to reenter the United States on a current H-1B visa," it added.
Who would need to pay the amount and how to do it?
According to the guidelines issued by the USCIS, if an applicant is "ineligible for a change of status or an amendment or extension of stay", then he or she would need to pay the USD 100,000 fee. For this, people would need pay the fees at pay.gov website.
India's criticism of Trump administration's move
Earlier, India had criticised the Trump administration's move and said that it will have 'humanitarian consequences'. However, the government said it would remain engaged with the US government over the issue, though.
"Skilled talent mobility and exchanges have contributed enormously to technology development, innovation, economic growth, competitiveness and wealth creation in the United States and India," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said.
