US announces new immigration rules benefiting H-1B visa holders and F-1 students in America

Current H-1B visa holders and international students in the US are finding themselves at the right place at the right time.

According to new guidance released by the Trump administration, U.S. employers hiring F-1 students for the H-1B visa program will not be required to pay the $100k petition fee. Also, US employers filing petitions for current H-1B holders seeking ‘extension of stay’ will not have to pay the exorbitant fee of $100k.

This means, current F-1 visa holders in the US who wish to switch to an H-1B visa will not be impacted by the $100k fee.

The new H-1B guidance released on October 20 states – If a petition filed after September 21, 2025, requests a change of status or amendment or extension of stay and USCIS determines that the alien is ineligible for a change of status or an amendment or extension of stay (e.g., is not in a valid nonimmigrant visa status or if the alien departs the United States prior to adjudication of a change of status request), the Proclamation will apply and the payment must be paid according to the instructions provided by USCIS.

This means, unless the request for a ‘change of status’ or ‘extension of stay’ is found to be ineligible by USCIS, the $100k fee will not apply. The current situation leaves foreign students and H-1B workers in the US in a favorable position.

The new guidance has exempted the US employers hiring F-1 students under the H-1B program. If you are an F-1 student interested in changing to H-1B status, your prospective employer must sponsor you and file that petition.

An F-1 student’s current or prospective employer may petition USCIS for H-1B status on their behalf by filing a timely cap-subject Form I-129, “Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.”

In addition, current H-1B visa holders who apply for ‘extension of stay’ will also stand to benefit. US employers hiring such H-1B visa holders will also not have to pay $100k fees.

Further, foreign workers seeking to re-enter the United States on a current H-1B visa will also not be impacted.

This will particularly help H-1B visa holders who have been recently laid off from jobs, as US employers will not have to pay $100k to hire them. H-1B visa holders have 60 days to find new employment, change status, or leave the country if they are laid off, fired, quit, or cease employment with their previous employer.

H-1B status is temporary employment authorization for nonimmigrants in specialty occupations. Employers can petition USCIS for H-1B status on behalf of employees with specialized technical or theoretical expertise.

However, the Proclamation also applies if a petition filed after September 21, 2025, requests consular notification, port of entry notification, or pre-flight inspection for an alien in the United States.

Individuals seeking entry into the United States are inspected at Ports of Entry by US officers who determine their admissibility. This means that all non-immigrants who are still not inside the US, such as foreign workers and international students, do not stand to benefit under the new guidance.

Nonimmigrants such as foreign students present in the United States or their petitioners may seek to change their status to another nonimmigrant classification, for example, to an H-1B visa classification.

Also, nonimmigrants such as H-1B visa holders present in the United States admitted for a specified period of time, or their petitioners, may request an extension of their admission period.

H-1B status is valid up to 3 years and extendable up to another 3 years, for a total period of admission of 6 years in the US.

On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, an important initial step to reform the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program.

The Proclamation applies to new H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025, on behalf of beneficiaries who are outside the United States and do not have a valid H-1B visa.