Overview

• The White House says the new charge applies only to fresh petitions filed after Sept. 21 and not to current H‑1B holders or routine renewals.
• Universities warn of multimillion‑dollar annual exposure if past hiring levels continue, and immigration lawyers signal lawsuits arguing the president lacks authority to set such fees.
• India’s External Affairs Ministry is engaging U.S. counterparts as the Finance Ministry cautions the fee could hit services exports and remittance inflows.
• Crisil projects a 10–20 basis‑point margin hit for top Indian IT firms, with 30–70% of costs passed to clients and further shifts toward offshoring and local hiring.
• Some tech leaders, including Jensen Huang, Sam Altman and Reed Hastings, welcomed a more transactional system, while employers weigh hiring freezes and place a premium on existing H‑1B talent.