Only fresh H-1B visa applicants will have to pay starting with the ‘next upcoming lottery cycle’.
Announcement eased fears among NRIs that triggered surge in flight bookings to the U.S.
Lutnick had stated that no more would these giant tech companies train foreign workers
A day after U.S. President Donald Trump hiked H-1B visa fees to $100,000, the White House clarified that the fee will not be an annual feature, but rather a “one-time” payment that will have to be made by companies for fresh H-1B visa applicants, starting with the “next upcoming lottery cycle”.
The announcement eased the fears that had triggered a surge in last-minute flight bookings to the United States by Indian H-1B visa holders who are currently outside the country, after U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick’s earlier remarks indicating that the fee amount would have to be paid every year. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt contradicted the Commerce Secretary’s comments in a social media post early on Sunday.
“To be clear: this is not an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies only to the petition. Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter. H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would: whatever ability they have to do that is not impacted by yesterday’s proclamation,” the Press Secretary said.
“This applies only to new visas, not renewals and not current visa holders. It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle,” she added.
Lutnick’s remarks
During the signing of the proclamation by Mr. Trump, Mr. Lutnick had said, “No more will these big tech companies train foreign workers. They have to pay the government a hundred thousand dollars and then they have to pay the employee. So it’s just non-economical. If you are going to train somebody, you are going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land.”
He added, “A hundred thousand dollars a year for H-1B visas and all of the big companies are onboard.”
Rush for tickets
In its first response on September 20, the Ministry of External Affairs had cautioned that the order would have “humanitarian consequences” due to family disruptions.
Soon after the proclamation by Mr. Trump, several corporate giants, including Microsoft, JPMorgan and Amazon, instructed their H-1B visa holding employees who were outside the U.S. to return before midnight on Saturday, telling others to remain in the U.S.
Mr. Lutnick’s remarks created a rush among H-1B visa holders for last minute purchases of air tickets.
The Hindu reported on Sunday that travel agents observed a surge in last-minute flight bookings to the U.S. on Saturday as H-1B visa holders attempted to reach their work stations in the U.S. ahead of the September 20-21 midnight deadline when the proclamation came into effect.
Officials also observed the spike in last-minute flight bookings, following which the Indian government instructed its missions and embassies across the world to provide “all possible help” to Indians trying to return to the U.S. before the deadline.
