Washington/New Delhi: United States President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation introducing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas, a move that is set to significantly alter the landscape of America’s high-skilled immigration program and deeply impact India’s $283 billion information technology sector. The rule, which took effect from Sunday, September 21, has triggered widespread concern among companies, workers, and immigration experts.
The H-1B visa program, long relied upon by U.S. technology giants and Indian outsourcing firms to source skilled workers, will now come at a steep one-time cost for employers filing new petitions. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that the $100,000 fee is not an annual charge, but a one-time payment attached to each new visa petition. She also emphasized that the rule does not apply to renewals or current visa holders. “Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” she wrote in a post on X. The fee will first apply in the upcoming H-1B lottery cycle.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who joined Trump at the signing, defended the move as a way to discourage companies from “training foreign workers” and “bringing them in to take jobs from Americans.” However, industry veterans and economists warn that the measure could disrupt the U.S. innovation ecosystem and weaken business continuity for onshore projects.
India, which accounted for 71% of all approved H-1B beneficiaries in 2024, stands to be most affected. With nearly 57% of Indian IT sector revenue tied to the U.S. market, firms like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra are expected to overhaul their decades-old practice of rotating skilled engineers into American client projects. Analysts predict a stronger pivot towards offshore delivery from India, Mexico, and the Philippines, alongside accelerated hiring of U.S. citizens and green card holders.
“The ‘American Dream’ for aspiring workers will be tough,” said Ganesh Natarajan, former CEO of Zensar Technologies, pointing to a likely reduction in cross-border travel. Nasscom, India’s IT industry body, warned of “ripple effects on America’s innovation ecosystem,” while economists noted that services exports have now been “dragged into the global trade and tech war.”
For employers, the rule is expected to make H-1B filings far more selective. Immigration attorney Vic Goel noted that sponsorship will likely be reserved for only the most business-critical roles. This could reduce access to the program for many skilled foreign nationals. Law firms also reported a surge in frantic queries over the weekend as companies rushed to clarify the rule’s scope. Before the White House statement, several firms, including Microsoft, Amazon, JPMorgan, and Tata Consultancy Services, had advised employees on H-1B visas to return to the U.S. immediately to avoid complications.
Legal challenges appear imminent. “We are anticipating several lawsuits this week,” said Sophie Alcorn, CEO of Alcorn Immigration Law.
The new regulation comes at a time when India’s IT sector is already grappling with slow revenue growth, deferred client spending in the U.S., and uncertainty over a proposed 25% tax on outsourcing payments. Experts expect the policy to accelerate the growth of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America, which are increasingly serving as high-value hubs for finance, R&D, and AI innovation.
“Time zone proximity will drive resourcing to Canada, Mexico, and Latin America, while India’s GCCs will expand with broader capabilities,” said Steven Hall, President at ISG. Silicon Valley analyst Ray Wang added that the policy signals “a new world order in services economics,” with more GCCs, more automation, fewer H-1B visas, and less job mobility.
The Trump administration has said the fee is designed to last one year, though it could be extended depending on policy priorities. For now, U.S. companies will need to weigh the steep costs of new petitions against shifting more work offshore — while Indian workers may find the road to America’s tech corridors narrowing sharply.