Until now, the applicants had to pay a few thousand dollars in application and processing fees for each H-1B visa. The sharp increase in H-1B visa fees could have a significant impact on Indian workers in the US.
How it impacts Indian workers
According to data, Indians are likely to be the worst-affected community by the steep rise in H-1B visa fees. Last year, they accounted for 71% of all H-1B recipients, according to USA Today.
Amazon and its cloud-computing division, AWS, got approval for over 12,000
H-1B visas. Microsoft and Meta Platforms each received approvals for more than 5,000 H-1B visas, according to Reuters.
These companies rely heavily on skilled workers from countries like India to fill technical roles, especially in software development, cloud computing, AI, and research.
The H-1B program primarily benefits two categories of Indians: Indian professionals employed by large US-based IT businesses and Indian students who get a Master’s or PhD from US universities and then seek an H-1B visa to remain and work in the US.
Trump’s recent measures, however, are expected to make it more difficult for Indians to obtain a US visa. Indians could apply for a Green Card, but they often have to wait longer. They would have to spend more than ₹ 88 lakh each time they need to renew their visas.
“We need workers. We need workers. We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen,” said Trump.
The H-1B non-immigrant visa program is one of the ‘most abused visa’ systems in the nation’s current immigration system, according to White House staff secretary Will Scharf.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
