NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT

Washington, D.C., September 20, 2025: White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday sought to clear up confusion over the Trump administration’s announcement of a $100,000 price tied to the H-1B visa program.

In a submit on X, Leavitt emphasised that the price is not an annual cost. “To be clear: that is NOT an annual price. It’s a one-time price that applies solely to the petition,” she wrote.

She added that present H-1B visa holders is not going to be impacted, even when they’re touring exterior the U.S. “Those that already maintain H-1B visas and are at the moment exterior of the nation proper now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” her assertion learn. Present visa holders can proceed to depart and re-enter below the identical situations as earlier than.

In response to Leavitt, the brand new price will apply completely to new H-1B petitions within the upcoming lottery cycle. Renewals and extensions for present employees are exempt.

White Home yesterday surprised the know-how trade by issuing a presidential proclamation that stated that starting Sept. 21 at 12:01 a.m., corporations bringing H-1B employees into the US should pay a $100,000 per-petition price.

“The times of employers abusing H-1B visas are over,” the proclamation declared. “Mission Firewall will guarantee high-skilled jobs go to Individuals first.”

The announcement triggered rapid alarm in Silicon Valley and on Wall Avenue, the place H-1B visas have been a spine of hiring world expertise. Corporations comparable to Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and JPMorgan Chase issued pressing steerage to their workers.

Amazon and Meta urged workers overseas on H-1B or H-4 visas to return earlier than the rule takes impact, with some notices warning employees to get again “inside 24 hours if potential.” Microsoft issued a 24-hour deadline to Indian and different international workers exterior the U.S., strongly recommending they fly again earlier than Sept. 21. JPMorgan Chase relayed comparable directions, warning that these caught overseas after the deadline may face crippling re-entry prices.

Immigration attorneys stated they had been flooded with calls from anxious workers and employers. “It’s chaos proper now,” stated one Atlanta-based lawyer. “Flights are being rebooked, holidays reduce quick, and firms are scrambling to determine who can get again in earlier than the deadline.”

Trump administration officers defended the transfer as a solution to pressure corporations to rent Individuals. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick advised reporters that employers should now determine “whether or not that employee is effective sufficient to justify a $100,000 fee — or whether or not they need to rent an American as an alternative.”

Trade teams warned of devastating penalties, arguing that the measure may drive away prime world expertise and disrupt multinational tasks. Authorized challenges are anticipated within the coming days.

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia/Wikimedia.

To be clear:

1.) That is NOT an annual price. It’s a one-time price that applies solely to the petition.

2.) Those that already maintain H-1B visas and are at the moment exterior of the nation proper now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter.

H-1B visa holders can depart and re-enter the…

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 20, 2025