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Trump’s H-1B Fee Won’t Affect Existing Visas or Renewals: White House
Existing visas, renewals, and travel remain untouched: White House
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Lalit K Jha (5WH) - Sun, 21, Sep 2025
- 18:40 EDT
- 35
- Washington DC
Representative Image / AI Generated
The White House on Sunday reassured foreign workers and employers that President Donald Trump’s new $100,000 H-1B fee applies only to fresh petitions, not to existing visas, renewals, or travel rights.
In guidance released late Sunday, the White House emphasised that the proclamation signed Sept. 19 “does not apply to any previously issued H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025.”
It also “does not change any payments or fees required to be submitted in connection with any H-1B renewals” and “does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa from travelling in and out of the United States”.
The proclamation, titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” instead requires a $100,000 payment on all new H-1B petitions filed after the deadline, including those for the 2026 lottery.
The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have been instructed to “take all necessary and appropriate action to implement this Proclamation”.
US government agencies have already moved to align procedures. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a memo detailing how the fee will be collected. Customs and Border Protection circulated internal guidance, and the State Department relayed instructions to consular officers worldwide.
While stressing continuity for current visa holders, the White House framed the fee as the first step in a broader overhaul. The Labor Department will initiate rulemaking to raise prevailing wage levels “to upskill the H-1B program and ensure that it is used to hire only the best of the best temporary foreign workers.”
DHS is separately tasked with adjusting the lottery to prioritize “high-skilled, high-paid aliens”.
“Additional reforms are also under consideration and will be announced in the coming months,” the FAQ said.
The H-1B visa, which admits 85,000 foreign workers annually, has long fueled debate in Washington. Technology firms see it as essential for recruiting talent, particularly from India and China. Critics have charged that the system allows companies to undercut U.S. wages and displace domestic workers.
Trump’s latest move, announced in the thick of his second-term agenda, sharpened those debates. For employers, the reassurance that renewals and travel remain unaffected may soften immediate disruptions, but the steep cost for new hires and looming structural changes signal an uncertain road ahead.
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