“America’s innovation economy depends on both strong domestic talent and access to a highly skilled workforce from abroad.” With this opening line, seven US lawmakers — Democrats and Republicans — have written to President
Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, urging them to reconsider the administration’s plan to impose a $ 100,000- fee on new
H-1B visa petitions.
As per the recent guidance update by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), new H-1B petitions, filed for consular processing, where the worker is outside the US will trigger the $100,000 payment requirement This payment is to be made upfront at the time of the H-1B visa application by the sponsoring employer, a refund is available only if the visa application is denied.
The letter, sent on Tuesday, warns that the fee will not curb abuse of the H-1B visa system, but will instead shut out start-ups, slow innovation, and push skilled workers — many from India — to competing countries.
The letter is signed by Suhas Subramanyam, son to Indian immigrant parents, other members of the US Congress who have joined in signing the letter include Sam T Liccardo, Jay Obernolte, María Elvira Salazar, Don Bacon and Greg Stanton.
The lawmakers concede that the H-1B programme needs reform, but point out that the imposition of a $ 100,000 entry fee is too expensive and will have adverse impact. They note that early-stage technology firms and research-driven companies, which depend heavily on foreign-born engineers and scientists, will simply not be able to afford the fee. They caution that while large corporations may absorb the cost, smaller companies will be forced to cancel job offers, move projects abroad or stop hiring foreign workers altogether. According to the letter, the proclamation “will bar rapidly scaling American start-ups from recruiting and retaining critically needed talent”, undermining their growth and “reducing employment of US citizens by those same employers”.
The growing support against the fee imposition, is particularly relevant to India, whose nationals receive around 60 per cent of all H-1B visas issued every year. Thousands of Indian students studying in the United States on F-1 and OPT visas transition to H-1B status to begin employment. As per USCIS’s guidance note, any employer filing a fresh H-1B petition for someone outside the US must pay 100,000 dollars upfront. Those already in the country on H-1B, or applying for extensions or amendments, are exempt. The fee also does not apply in case of transition from a F-1 (student visa) to an H-1B, while in the US. However, new graduates who return to India for visa stamping or travel could be caught in the net.
The letter draws attention to a larger strategic risk: if the US makes it harder for skilled immigrants to stay, they will return to countries like India, China, Israel or those in Europe and launch companies that directly compete with American firms. It points out that China already produces nearly half of the world’s top artificial intelligence researchers, more than double the number in the US, and is expanding visa options to attract global STEM talent. Canada promises high-skill visas in under two weeks, Germany has signed a labour mobility agreement with India, and China has introduced a new “K” visa for young technology professionals. “Other nations see the opportunity presented by our shift,” the lawmakers write, “and they’re seizing it.”
They argue that high-skilled immigration has historically been America’s strength. Nearly half of all US start-ups valued at over a billion dollars — the so-called “unicorns” — were founded by immigrants, and many of today’s biggest technology firms were unable to make profits during their early years and would not have survived if such a fee had existed. The letter cites research showing that start-ups which successfully hire H-1B workers file more patents, attract more funding, and hire more Americans.
Instead of the significant entry fee, the lawmakers propose targeted reforms: stricter action against outsourcing firms that replace US workers with lower-paid employees, visa portability to allow H-1B holders to change jobs freely, better enforcement, updated wage and skill classifications, and a more reasonable fee structure. Their appeal is not to scrap reform, but to avoid a policy that they say will harm the very companies and workers the US economy depends on.
For India, this debate is more than policy politics in Washington. It affects tens of thousands of engineering graduates, IT professionals, medical researchers and families who aspire to work in the US. It influences decisions by Indian technology companies and start-ups that operate in both Bengaluru and Silicon Valley. If the rule holds, job offers may be withdrawn, visas delayed, and future plans derailed. If it is struck down or modified, the pathway for Indian talent to the United States — already narrowed by backlogs and lottery systems — may remain open, but not unchanged.
As the lawmakers write in closing, high-skilled immigrants “play a vital role in strengthening our economy, advancing American competitiveness, and expanding opportunities for US citizens”. They urge the President to work with Congress to modernise the system, not seal it off.
Two separate lawsuits have been filed in US district courts, aiming to block the $100,000 fee imposed by Donald J Trump’s proclamation. The outcome of these legal challenges is still awaited.