The Indian Times website on September 21 that U.S. President Donald Trump had signed an announcement on September 19 to raise the cost of enterprises paying for H-1B visa applicants to $100,000 a year. Following the announcement, the Indian Embassy in the United States released emergency assistance phone numbers for Indian citizens in need.

According to Trump, this move aims to ensure that the United States introduces highly skilled talents who cannot be replaced by Americans. Previously, enterprises usually paid thousands of dollars for H-1B visas. A senior U.S. government official further explained that this fee only applies to new applicants for H-1B visas, not to existing visa holders or renewers.

According to rough statistics, 71% to 72% of all H-1B visas in the United States are issued to Indians, so Trump's move has caused panic among Indian technology industries and thousands of professionals in the United States. Many affected Indian citizens have said that the Trump administration's move is targeted at Indians. The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 20th that the New Deal will cause troubles to Indian families and bring humanitarian consequences. The Indian government, for its part, said it was studying the "full impact" of this measure and asked its missions abroad to provide all possible assistance to Indian citizens facing emergency travel situations.

As one of the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B project, the Indian information technology company is expected to engage with U.S. counterparts and lobby groups to explore ways to mitigate the impact of the new fee structure.

According to Agence France-Presse reported on September 20th, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 20th that it was worried that the US H-1B visa fee of $100,000 would "cause interference to (Indian) families", thus causing "humanitarian consequences", and "hoped" that the US authorities could properly handle these problems. The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled that the flow of talents has promoted "scientific and technological development, innovation and economic growth" in both countries.

H-1B visa program is the main way to introduce highly skilled talents in the United States, and it is aimed at professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the maximum number of new H-1B visas issued every year is 85,000. Tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Tesla, Microsoft and Meta have relied on H-1B visa programs to hire foreign employees, including software development engineers. According to CNBC, in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2025, that is, as of June 30 this year, Amazon alone had more than 14,000 H-1B visas approved, and Microsoft and Meta each had more than 5,000 approvals.

According to some analysts, the U.S. government has significantly increased the annual fee for H-1B visas, which could lead to a sharp rise in human costs for large tech companies.In addition, for small tech companies and startups, the human costs of $100,000 per year will be unbearable, not only preventing them from recruiting overseas talent, but also forcing them to move some of their high-value jobs overseas.