Overview

• President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 charge tied to H‑1B visas, after which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick initially described it as an annual fee, sowing confusion.
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said the charge is a one‑time payment for first‑time applicants only and does not affect renewals or current holders, including those abroad.
• Before the clarification, companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, JPMorgan and TCS urged H‑1B employees to stay in or return to the United States, prompting trip cancellations and rushed travel.
• Industry analysts and executives expect accelerated offshoring and nearshoring, tighter H‑1B sponsorship, more automation, and faster growth of global capability centres in India, Canada, Mexico and Latin America.
• With roughly 71% of H‑1B beneficiaries from India, Indian officials and industry groups criticized the move as harmful to U.S. competitiveness, while immigration lawyers signaled likely court challenges and warned of project delays.