Overview

• The presidential proclamation took effect on September 21, with the White House, USCIS and CBP stating the fee does not apply to current H‑1B holders or renewals and that travel and reentry for existing visa holders remain unaffected.
• Initial confusion triggered urgent corporate advisories from firms such as Microsoft, Amazon, JPMorgan and TCS, leading many H‑1B workers to cancel trips or rush back to the United States.
• Indian leaders, including Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar, criticized the move as harmful to the U.S. tech ecosystem and Indian professionals, while India’s foreign ministry said it is assessing the implications.
• Analysts and industry executives expect companies to curb onshore rotations, shift more work offshore or near‑shore, grow global capability centers and reserve H‑1B sponsorships for only the most critical roles.
• The White House defended the policy by alleging program abuse and U.S. job losses in a fact sheet, as immigration lawyers said multiple legal challenges are expected this week.