H-1B visa fee row: Who is exempt, who will pay? Everything You Need to Know as Trump Admin Explains

The Donald Trump administration issued a clarification on the H-1B visa fee on Monday, a month after it announced a shocking $100,000 charge on the worker visa. In its latest notice, the US clarified who must pay the exorbitant $100,000 fees and who does not. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued the guidance on Monday in an effort to clarify the exemptions from President Donald Trump’s September 19 proclamation, ‘Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers’. The USCIS also launched a payment portal on Monday, saying applicants who have a receipt showing the $100,000 H-1B visa fee can move forward with their application. The USCIS clarified who is exempt and who is not, regarding the $100,000 H-1B visa fees. H-1B Visa Fees: Who Is Exempt From Paying $100,000? The USCIS, in its clarification, said that not every foreign national seeking a US visa or holding the H-1B visa has to pay the fee of $100,000 or ₹88 lakh. The $100,000 H-1B visa fee does not apply to those who already hold the visa. The Trump administration further noted that those who applied for the H-1B visa beginning September 21 before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight, don’t have to pay the fees. “The proclamation does not apply to any previously issued and currently valid H-1B visas, or any petitions filed before 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025,” the USCIS said. Those who already have a US visa, including international students on F-1 visas and professionals on L-1 visas, will not have to pay the $100,000 H1-B visa fee when going for a change of status. The USCIS said the H-1B fee does not apply to a petition filed on or after “12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025, requesting a modification, change of status, or extension of stay for an alien within the United States where the alien is granted such modification, change, or extension.” A beneficiary will not be considered subject to the payment if they subsequently leave the US and apply for a visa based on the approved petition and/or attempt to re-enter the US on a current H-1B visa, it said. It added that the proclamation also does not prevent any current H1-B holder from traveling in and out of the US. Who must pay $100,000 H-1B visa fee? According to the rules, an employer must pay the H-1B visa fee for applicants applying for the visa for the first time from outside the US. The H-1B visa fee will also apply if the USCIS determines that person is “not eligible for a change of status or a modification or extension of stay”. The $100,000 charge would apply if the applicant “is not in a valid nonimmigrant visa status or if the alien leaves the United States before a request for change of status is adjudicated.”