H1B Visa imbroglio

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation H-1B visa system that, effectively, targets skilled Indians more than any other group. This will raise the fee for these visas to $100,000 (Rs 88 lakh) annually — making it prohibitively expensive for companies to hire Indian professionals in the US.

The fees are intended to be paid by companies sponsoring the visas, rather than applicants themselves. The Trump administration implemented the fee in an effort to encourage companies to hire more American workers.

Currently, the H-1B visa fee ranges from about $2000-$5000 depending on employer size and other costs. The visas are valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Companies pay to sponsor H-1B applicants.

US officials underlined that $100,000 was an annual fee and it was a “one-time fee” that applied “only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders. It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle.

“H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would.

The US order claimed there was “deliberate” exploitation of the visa scheme by companies to “replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour.” The order had led to a “disadvantageous labour market for American citizens. There is a demand to attract and retain the highest skilled subset of temporary workers in critical science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.”

The number of foreign STEM workers in the US has more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, increasing from 1.2 million to almost 2.5 million, while overall STEM employment has only increased 44.5 percent during that time, the order said.

The Trump administration said that the $100,000 fee is aimed at ensuring that the people being brought into the country are “actually very highly skilled” and do not replace American workers.

Under the Gold Card program—first floated by Trump in February and detailed in an executive order —foreign nationals who contribute at least $1 million to the Commerce Department will be eligible for an expedited path to an immigrant visa. Corporations can secure the same privilege for employees with a $2-million payment.

The administration expects to issue around 80,000 Gold Cards, though the program remains in the "implementation phase." Applicants approved after vetting by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security will be granted lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a green card, upon paying a $15,000 processing fee.

Under the Gold Card programme, individuals who can pay $1 million to the US Treasury, or $2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, will get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card in the country.

The Gold Card will replace the existing EB-1 and EB-2 visa categories, which currently provide green cards for individuals with "exceptional ability" in business and other fields.

In 2024, for instance, Indians received 71 percent of approved H-1B visas, followed by Chinese nationals in second place with 11.7 percent, according to US government data.

The Filipinos were third, accounting for 1.3 percent of approved H-1B visas; Canadians were in fourth place, accounting for 1.1 percent; and South Koreans were in fifth place, accounting for 1 percent.