H-1B visa fee: Trump’s September 19 proclamation on the H-1B visa caused a lot of confusion, with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick describing the fee as an annual fee for six years. It created chaos and panic, with people saying that employers filing for H-1B renewals would also have to pay the same $100,000. But was that really the case?

Well, within 24 hours, most of the US agencies came out with clarifications. 

The initial announcement

1- When Trump signed the proclamation at the White House, he asked Lutnick to explain the new policy. Standing beside Trump, he announced that employers filing for H-1B visas would be required to pay a $100,000 annual fee.

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“$100,000 per year. No more training of foreign workers as they have to pay $100,000 to the government and then to the employees. It’s not economic,” Lutnick said, before adding that companies should rather train Americans. 

He went on to say, “The Company needs to decide. Do they want? Is the person valuable enough to have a hundred thousand dollars a year payment to the government, or should they head home, and they should go higher in America? The whole idea is, it’s annual, and it can be a total of six years.”

All this while Trump listened attentively, adding that the new order would help keep “very productive” people in the country.

This created confusion that the $100,000 is an annual fee and not a one-time thing. 

H-1B fee hike proclamation

2- Soon after, the White House released the signed proclamation, which stated that the fee applied to new applications only. Still, the damage was done. Social media posts added fuel to the fire, insisting that the charge was annual. They based it on Lutnick’s comments during the press briefing.

The White House even shared a news report about the $100,000 H-1B fee, but failed to clarify who would actually be impacted. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the same announcement, confirming the rollout date of September 21 but leaving critical details vague.

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H-1B visa fee clarification

3- After mounting confusion, Karoline Leavitt released a three-point clarification accompanied by a fact sheet.

She clarified that the fee is a one-time payment, not an annual charge. Leavitt also confirmed that it applies only to new H-1B applications. Current visa holders need not worry, and individuals outside the US will not be charged any fee to enter the country.

“​​To be clear: This is NOT an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies only to the petition. Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” she said, before explaining, “H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would; whatever ability they have to do that is not impacted by yesterday’s proclamation.”

Leavitt further said, “This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders. It will first apply in the upcoming lottery cycle.”

H-1B visa timeline

Employers register for H-1B’s in March, and the lottery is drawn in April. After that, employers file applications for lottery winners. In September, USCIS makes a decision on the applications – approves or denies them. Those who get approved must wait until October 1 before starting work.