PressAdda
Kathmandu- The United States has announced a dramatic hike in H-1B visa application fees to $100,000. President Donald Trump signed the order at the White House on Saturday, signaling a major policy shift aimed at restricting the entry of foreign workers.
Previously, H-1B application fees ranged from $215 to a few thousand dollars. The new $100,000 fee means only individuals with extraordinary skills will likely qualify, making it harder for companies to sponsor foreign workers.
Nepali ma padhna yaha click garnus
India has been the biggest beneficiary of H-1B visas, securing 71% of approvals last year, followed by China at 11.7%. Indian IT giants such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, and HCL send thousands of engineers to the US each year. However, the steep new fee could make the practice far less profitable.
Analysts predict this move will drastically reduce opportunities for young engineers, pushing Indian professionals toward Europe, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East instead of the US.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that American companies should prioritize training US graduates rather than paying high fees to bring in foreign talent. The Trump administration is expected to implement the changes within weeks.
The H-1B visa program, introduced in 1990, allows skilled professionals in STEM fields to work in the US for three to six years. So far, Amazon has received the most H-1B visas, with TCS, Microsoft, Apple, and Google following closely.
