The Donald Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to significantly overhaul the H-1B visa regulations to impose strict rules on how employers can avail themselves of the visa facilities.
Besides the mandatory $100,000 filing fee, the new and tougher immigration rules are also being considered. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has pushed to further implement the regulatory agenda titled “Reforming the H-1B Non-immigrant Visa Classification Programme”.
The proposed changes, according to DHS, aim to “improve the integrity of the H-1B programme and better protect US workers’ wages and working conditions.” The proposed regulations are expected to be announced in December 2025 in the Federal Register.
Earlier reports also suggested that the Trump administration was also trying to replace the present H-1B lottery system with a wage-based selection process. The move is aimed at prioritising the domestic workforce for higher-paid roles over the top-tier foreign talent.
Basically, the H-1B visa regulations, which came into being in 1990 as the Immigration Act, empower US companies to hire highly skilled workers from abroad in case there are shortages in the domestic market.
Also Read: How H1B visa row exposed latent racism of right-wing Americans
The companies, over time, have hired the best brains from across the world in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
It serves as a key pathway for skilled professionals, especially from India, to work and eventually seek permanent residency in the US. The annual fee is set at 65,000 visas, with an additional 20,000 reserved for individuals with a US master’s degree or higher.
These are particularly then distributed through a lottery system, although certain employers, such as the universities and NFOs, are excluded from this cap. As per the Pew Research Center, around 75 per cent of H-1B approvals in 2023 were given to Indian nationals.
If the proposed changes go into effect, they could significantly impact thousands of Indian students and professionals seeking to work in the US.
Also Read: One-time $100K H1-B visa fee for new applicants
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