India Responds as Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee Sparks Global Alarm
The Indian government on Saturday issued an official statement in response to President Donald Trump’s proclamation imposing a $100,000 annual surcharge on H-1B visas, calling the development one with far-reaching implications for families, innovation, and bilateral trade.
The statement, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, said the new measure is being examined by all stakeholders, including Indian industry, and acknowledged early assessments that suggest serious humanitarian and economic disruption.
 |
| All new and renewal petitions for H-1B visas must be accompanied by a $100,000 payment |
This comes on top of the $6,000–$10,000 companies already spend per worker in legal and filing fees. In its statement, India flagged the cost burden and the fallout on families, saying the measure is “likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families.”
Our statement regarding restrictions to the US H1B visa program⬇️
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 20, 2025
🔗 https://t.co/fkOjHIxEu9 pic.twitter.com/1rM9W3GYqC
Indian nationals are expected to be hardest hit. They account for 71% of all H-1B approvals — roughly 283,000 individuals in FY 2024 alone.
With the visa programme capped at 85,000 new entrants annually against over 700,000 applicants in recent years, the competition has long been intense. Now, with costs increased tenfold, industry experts say the barrier to entry is no longer just skill or luck, but affordability.
The MEA emphasised that industry in both India and the US has a shared interest in preserving the talent pipeline.
“Industry in both India and the US has a stake in innovation and creativity and can be expected to consult on the best path forward,” the statement read.
It pointed to the long-standing role of skilled talent mobility in driving technology development, economic growth and competitiveness in both countries, and called for policymakers to weigh the broader impact of such decisions.
🚨Major Blow to the Indians working in US
— Surya Reddy (@jsuryareddy) September 20, 2025
$100K per H-1B visa: Donald Trump officially signs executive order to impose $100,000 (₹88 lakh) fee on #H1B visas 'annually'
US President #DonaldTrump just made it insanely costly to hire Indian Engineers.
The impact could be… pic.twitter.com/dGHv4GG26w
The United States has justified the move by citing alleged misuse of the H-1B system. In his proclamation, President Trump argued that the programme was created to supplement the US labour market but had instead been “deliberately exploited” to replace American workers.
“Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs,” said US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, echoing the administration’s stance.
The shockwaves are already visible. Amazon, which tops the list of H-1B sponsors with over 10,000 approvals in FY25, has advised all H-1B and H-4 employees abroad to return to the United States before the policy takes effect. In an internal communication reviewed by Reuters, Amazon instructed workers to re-enter by midnight EDT on 21 September, warning that those who remain overseas risk being denied reentry.
Legal advisories issued by immigration law firms working with companies like Microsoft and JPMorgan have echoed that warning, flagging the potential for visa holders to be stranded outside the US if they fail to meet the deadline.
Beyond immediate travel disruptions, the long-term implications of the $100,000 fee are drawing scrutiny. A mid-sized tech firm with 1,000 H-1B employees would see an annual cost increase of $100 million. For startups and smaller businesses, hiring even a handful of Indian engineers could become financially unviable.
Immigration attorneys warn that the new regime could collapse the long-standing system of Indian IT placements, where companies sponsor large numbers of engineers annually.
Even for those who secure an H-1B visa, the path forward remains uncertain. Due to a 7% country-wise cap on green cards, Indian nationals face a backlog of over 1 million applicants, with wait times often extending beyond two decades.
As of September 2025, green cards for Indian professionals in the EB-2 category are being issued only to those who filed before January 2012.
The Ministry’s response struck a diplomatic but clear tone, underlining that “mutual benefits,” including people-to-people ties and trade complementarities, must guide such policy decisions.
It noted that India expects consultations to continue and stressed that the disruptions caused by the new rule “can be addressed suitably by the US authorities.”
The surcharge, part of a wider immigration clampdown in Trump’s second term, has put India–US relations at a new inflection point. The visa fee may have been framed as a domestic labour policy, but its sharpest impact will be felt abroad -- particularly in India, whose skilled workforce has powered major segments of the US tech industry for decades.