Immigration Lawyers Confident Trump's H-1B Visa Fee Blow Will Run Into Judicial Obstacles

(MENAFN- Live Mint) After the White House announced a proclamation that will bar new H-1B holders from entering the US starting 12:01 am EST Sunday, September 21, 2025, unless employers pay a $100,00 fee per petition, commotion and confusion are reigning supreme.

Now, a day after President Trump's proclamation, the White House has moved to calm fears. The payment would supplement current fees for H-1B visa applications. The order reportedly includes“case-by-case exemptions if in the national interest.”

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The Proclamation does not apply to current H-1B visa holders .

The Proclamation only applies to future applicants in the February lottery who are currently outside the US. It does not apply to anyone who participated in the 2025 lottery.

The Proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to/from the US.

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A senior White House official said,“The fee is only for new H-1B (applications). Current H-1B holders will not have to pay to return to the US.”

The clarification came amid panic in the Indian H-1B community, with workers rushing to airports to return to the US and flooding attorneys with urgent calls.

SABA holds an emergency webinar

The South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of North America held an emergency webinar at 2:00 PM PST to discuss the effects of the new proclamation regarding H-1Bs. Lalitha Alladi, an Immigration Attorney and President-Elect of SABA Florida and Georgia, and Rohit Biswas, VP Advocacy, advised that since the situation with the new proclamation is still evolving, they suggest that the H-1B holders in the US should not leave the country.

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This order will almost certainly face court challenges as it exceeds presidential authority.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said,“The president has literally zero legal authority to impose a $100,000 fee on visas. None. Zip. Zilch. The only authority Congress has ever given the executive branch here is to charge fees to recover the cost of processing the application.”

“The proclamation will be challenged in federal court and very soon be restrained via a Temporary Restraining Order. This is an extreme illegal overreach as to what the White House is permitted to do with visa fees. However, the message is clear. The H-1B visa will be attacked every which way that it can be, likely for the next few years. If you wish to remain in the US, consider other options like an L1 or O1. Build your profile to become eligible for EB1A, a faster path to a Green Card for Indians,” said Ashima Duggal, US immigration Attorney at the Duggal Law Group.

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Dr Sahana Devakumar, Internal Medicine Resident at SUNY Upstate University Hospital in New York in India on emergency leave wanted to know if the ruling applies to doctors as well. There is an exception for roles that are in the national interest, but no guidance in terms of how and when to request the exemption.

“The H1-B program brings doctors who serve rural hospitals, cancer researchers working toward lifesaving treatments, and highly skilled professionals who help American businesses innovate and grow. This executive order punishes the very people whose skills strengthen our economy, improve our health, and expand opportunity across the country,” said Kalpana V. Peddibhotla, Executive Director of South Asian American Justice Collaborative (SAAJCO).

Similarly, those looking for guidance on cap-gap status and approved H-1B petition but are out of the US due to emergency travel should fly back to the US before their F1 status converts to H1-B.

Also Read | H-1B visa fee shock: Indian companies to boost local hiring in US, says Nasscom

“The people who come here on H-1B visas pay income taxes, local taxes, and spend money they earn in the local economy. The companies will not just bring them here but have them do their work in other countries, including their own. That is a multi-billion-dollar blow to the US economy. This is one of the stupidest moves made by this administration, a self-inflicted wound on America,” wrote Mukesh Advani, Litigation Attorney and Owner of the Advani Law Firm.

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