New H-1B fee proposal clears White House review. Will it hit Indians?

A proposal from the Donald Trump administration that could raise or otherwise change fees for petitions for the H-1B work programme has cleared a key White House regulatory review, bringing it closer to publication and implementation, reported the US-based outlet, Bloomberg Law. While details of the proposal are not available for public viewing yet, any increase or change in H-1B fees could hit Indian professionals hard, who accounted for a majority of all H-1B approvals and renewals in 2025.

According to the report, the proposal from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), identified as RIM 1615-AD20 was cleared by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on Wednesday. This proposal will be published by the DHS publicly in the coming weeks.

The move comes as the Donald Trump Administration continues to overhaul the H-1B programme from the ground up, a visa route that is heavily used by highly skilled Indian professionals looking to live and work in the US.

PROPOSED H-1B FEE DETAILS NOT YET PUBLIC

The DHS proposal that cleared the White House reviews concerns fees associated with H-1B visa workers' petitions, according to Bloomberg Law. But the proposal's precise provisions remain under wraps as the DHS has yet to publish the regulation.

It is therefore not yet known how much the fees could increase, which H-1B petition would be affected or when any changes will take effect.

Note, OIRA clearance does not mean that a new rule increasing H-1B fees is currently in force. The DHS must first publish the proposed rule, allowing for public comments, and subsequently decide whether to issue a final regulation.

In any case, the proposal comes amid the Trump administration's wider efforts to make the H-1B programme more restrictive and costly. For instance, the administration imposed a $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B workers via a presidential proclamation, although a federal court later struck down the fee, a ruling that the administration has challenged.

Similarly, the Department of Homeland Security has expanded the scope of the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee to cover H-1B and L-1 extension-of-status petitions filed by certain employers.

Under the final rule, covered employers, those with at least 50 US employees, with more than half holding H-1B or L-1 status, will have to pay an additional $4,000 for H-1B and $4,500 for L-1 petitions, including eligible extensions from September this year.

WILL INDIAN H-1B PROFESSIONALS BE AFFECTED?

Bloomberg Law further reported that the Trump administration is considering separate changes to the H-1B programme, including tighter scrutiny of employers with compliance violations and greater oversight of third-party placements.

The developments are particularly significant for Indian professionals, who account for a large share of H-1B workers. According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, the agency approved 406,348 H-1B petitions in FY2025, including 291,542, or nearly 72%, for continuing employment. Indians accounted for 226,359 of these continuing-employment approvals, or 77.6%.

Any increase in petition-related fees could therefore raise costs for US employers with large Indian workforces, particularly in the technology sector.

For now, however, the latest proposal has not changed the fees paid by employers or H-1B workers. Its clearance by OIRA marks another step in the regulatory process and brings the administration closer to potentially increasing the cost of employing skilled foreign workers in the US.

- Ends