The Trump administration has signed a proclamation introducing a sweeping change to the U.S. H-1B visa programme: companies that sponsor H-1B workers will now be required to pay USD 100,000 per year for each such employee. The policy takes effect on September 21, 2025, and is expected to dramatically reshape the migration of skilled workers, particularly affecting Indian tech professionals, who currently make up the largest share of H-1B holders.
Under the new proclamation, all new petitions, and those filed by employers with beneficiaries outside the United States, must be accompanied by the fee. Workers may be denied entry if their employer has not paid the required amount. Sources say the order aims to curb abuse of the H-1B system, lessen dependency on foreign talent, and incentivise companies to hire more domestic graduates.
Indian experts and political figures have strongly criticised the move, warning that it could choke U.S. innovation while draining its talent pipeline. Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant described the fee hike as “America’s loss, India’s gain,” saying that Indian professionals may increasingly choose to remain in India, contributing instead to its technology, research, and development ecosystem. Some see it as an opportunity for India to reduce brain drain and build capacity in areas like AI, robotics, and biotech.
Political leaders in India echoed these sentiments, with calls for the government to invest more heavily in retaining talent and improving infrastructure so that professionals deprived of overseas opportunities can find fulfilling careers at home. Others highlighted the fee as a foreign policy setback, arguing that it signals U.S. protectionism at the expense of global talent mobility.
On the U.S. side, the administration defends the fee as a necessary step to protect American workers and wages from what it describes as over-reliance on foreign labour. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has portrayed the move not as revenue generation but as a policy to ensure H-1B visas are used more selectively—reserved for workers with uniquely high qualifications or in roles that truly demand foreign skill.
Analysts warn, however, of wide ramifications. For U.S. tech firms, the exorbitant fee could deter hiring of foreign talent, especially entry-level roles and startups, and might push more tech work offshore. The labour market may suffer from talent shortages in STEM fields. For India, it presents both a challenge and a rare chance to capitalise on returning diaspora and reverse the long-standing emigration trend among high-skilled workers.
As the new fee regime gears up, all eyes will be on how businesses adapt, how India’s tech sector responds, and whether this marks a turning point in the global competition for talent.