By Admin 
Giving a big relief to foreign professionals, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued new guidelines on the application fee of one lakh dollars for H-1B visa. Many exemptions and exceptions have been included in this. According to the new guidelines, people who are switching from F-1 (student) visa to H-1B visa category will not have to pay this heavy fee. Similarly, this fee will not be applicable on H-1B visa holders who apply for amendment, change of status or extension of visa while staying within the US.
Apart from this, existing H-1B visa holders will not have any restrictions on their travel to and from the country. This fee will be applicable only to those new applicants who are outside the US and do not have a valid H-1B visa. Online payment link for the new application process has also been released.
This clarification has come at a time when the US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration against this decision. The organization called this fee illegal and said that it would have a serious economic impact on American businesses and companies would either have to drastically increase their labor expenses or reduce the recruitment of skilled foreign workers.
This is the second major legal challenge against the Trump administration. Earlier, a group of labor unions, education experts and religious institutions had also filed a lawsuit on October 3. Trump had said on this announcement signed on September 19 that its purpose is to encourage employment to American citizens. However, this decision has created confusion among existing visa holders as to whether they will be able to return to America or not.
The White House had told IANS on September 20 that this is a one-time fee, which will apply only to new visa applications and not to renewal or existing visa holders. In 2024, Indian-origin professionals had more than 70 percent share in the total approved H-1B visas. This was due to the huge backlog of cases pending in visa approval and the large number of highly skilled applicants coming from India.