A senior White House official clarified to ANI that if someone holds an H-1B visa and is currently visiting or travelling to India or their country, they need not rush back before Sunday or pay the $100,000 fee.
That fee only applies to new H-1B visa holders, not to those who already have the visa.The official has also said that the $100,000 fee would only apply to “new lottery applications after Sunday.”
As Trump signed the new executive order on H-1B visa, there were numerous confusions around the same. The recent order imposes a $100,000 fee on companies hiring these workers to live and work in the United States.
This had panicked many visa holders, thinking they may have to return to the US before 21st September. Tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft have warned their employees to return to the US by 12:01 AM ET on September 21.
However, this confirmation will now be a relief to many.
Earlier today, the Ministry of External Affairs had also reacted to the recent order. The statement read, “This measure is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families. The government hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities.”
The White House described the new move as a step to address “systemic abuse” of the H-1B visa program, which has long faced criticism from US policymakers for potentially displacing jobs of Americans.
However, industry leaders caution that the change could severely impact America’s tech talent pipeline, as the sector relies heavily on skilled foreign workers.
At present, more than 70% of all H-1B visa holders are from India, with around 300,000 Indian professionals, mostly in tech, currently holding H-1B visas in the US.