Old visa. New visa. Renewing visa... Who pays $100,000?

There was little clarity on Saturday, 20 September, on the dramatic announcement of a staggering $100,000 (Rs 88 lakh) annual fee imposed on H-1B visa holders and those applying afresh.

If anything, there was more confusion as the White House press secretary in a statement contradicted the US commerce secretary, who had announced on Friday that the fees would have to be paid annually and would apply to people seeking a new visa as well as those seeking renewals. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a clarification on Saturday (20 September), hours before the new policy was to go into effect.

The White House press secretary said that US President Donald Trump’s new $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications will apply only to new applicants and not to existing holders re-entering the United States. The clarification, conveyed to the media informally, came after the order sparked panic among current H-1B workers worried they would be forced to pay to return.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted on Saturday, "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. This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders. It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle."

To all who are saying that the H1B Visa tariff is a blessing in disguise…I have just one question, why are all the blessings we get disguised & not just direct blessings…

— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) September 20, 2025

H-1B visa row: MEA provides cold comfort, stakeholders in limbo

The damage had, however, been done with thousands of Indians holding the visa and planning a vacation back home panicked and cancelled their air tickets. Those who were already in India paid through their nose and scrambled to board flights back to the US to beat the deadline of Saturday midnight, when the new fees was to come into effect.

The bizarre sequence of events began on Friday when secretary of commerce Lutnick, who has no authority over immigration, was invited to communicate the rollout of the new policy, where he said that it would be an annual $100,000 fee for all H-1Bs for everybody renewing their visas and for those applying for the first time.

On the same day, the White House released the proclamation, which reiterated that it applied to literally all H-1B workers, even those who were outside of the US, and that it goes into effect the following Monday. A day later, on Saturday, the press secretary tweeted that the effects of the proclamation start during next year's H-1B lottery and doesn't impact people who already have a visa or who are renewing their visas, and that they can all re-enter the country without paying the fee--a complete contradiction from what was said at the White House press conference and what was written in the White House proclamation.

Meanwhile, the State Department, the agency that actually has the authority to implement the proclamation, has still said nothing on the subject.

Indian embassy in US issues helpline over H-1B fee

The Indian embassy in Washington issued an emergency helpline (+1-202-550-9931) for nationals in need of urgent support.

The Ministry of External Affairs said it is studying the implications, warning that the move could have serious financial and humanitarian consequences, including disruptions for families.

India caught napping by Trump’s H-1B visa blow