Washington DC: Indian professionals and immigration lawyers have been left confused by the scope of the Trump administration’s new order hiking H-1B visa application fees. Many are pointing to discrepancies between statements made by commerce secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday and the text of Trump’s executive order released on the same day.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Lutnick said that companies would have to pay the US government a sum of $100,000 per H-1B employee per year. However, the text of the executive order released by the White House does not specify an annual payment.
“There is indeed a discrepancy between what Mr. Lutnick said at the press conference and the signed Proclamation. There may be changes or more documents coming, but all we know for now is what is in the Proclamation. As written, the Proclamation requires a payment of $100,000 per petition, not annually,” said Henry Lindpere, senior counsel for immigration at Manifest Law.
H-1B visa holders and lawyers were also unsure if the $100,000 payment applied on renewal petitions, which are made to extend the visa for an additional three years. While Lutnick indicated that the companies renewing H-1Bs for their workers will also have to pay the new visa fee, US officials told HT that the fee applies only to new visas and not for renewal petitions.
Indian H-1B visa holders outside the United States have also scrambled to get back to America before the visa hike order takes effect on Sunday. Some of them told HT they were cancelling vacations for fear of not being able to re-enter the country. This follows from a strict reading of Trump’s presidential proclamation which could prohibit visa holders from re-entering America.
“Employers are taking the conservative approach to keep their employees safe and able to work at their jobs in the U.S. As of yet, any potential payment mechanism for the $100,000 remains unknown to my knowledge. Therefore, once the Proclamation takes effect at 12:01am Eastern Time tonight, individuals entering the States on H-1B may simply be denied entry. The most cautious option is for all H-1B and H-4 visa holders to return to the U.S. today,” explains Sophie Alcorn, a Silicon Valley-based immigration lawyer.
However, US officials clarified to HT that Indian H1B visa holders will not have to rush back to the United States by September 21.
Immigration lawyers are still waiting for more details on how Washington expects to collect its $100,000 payment from companies sponsoring H1B visas.
“We do not know of any payment system yet that is ready for this. It is unclear at this point whether this payment would be collected by USCIS, Department of State, Treasury, Department of Commerce, or some other government agency,” adds Lindpere, who is waiting for a clarification on the matter.
Further, the White House order also states that the new visa fee will be renewed within 30 days of the next H1B visa lottery to assess if it suits America’s national interest. Adding to the uncertainty is the prospect of a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s order.
“This likely means that the administration will evaluate what impact this Proclamation has on the H-1B lottery participation. Based on the results of the next lottery, they may change the rule. But how long-lasting the Proclamation will prove to be will only become clear over time. There are almost certainly lawsuits being prepared for already, and the legality of the Proclamation will be challenged in federal court very soon,” Lindpere told HT.
