US President Donald Trump has taken yet another sensational decision. He has signed a new executive order extending by another year the massive $100,000 fee imposed on H-1B visa applications, used for hiring foreign employees. The decision is already facing strong opposition and legal challenges in several federal courts, including in Boston. Even so, the Trump administration is getting ready to enforce this harsh decision without backing down in the least, causing a stir around the world.
Previously, IT companies spent only $2,000 to $5,000 on H-1B visa processing. But last September, the Trump administration unexpectedly dropped a bombshell by raising this fee to a whopping $100,000. US administration officials have said that since the hike came into effect, visa registrations by IT outsourcing companies have fallen by as much as 92 percent. The Trump administration firmly argues that its main goal is to pressure companies to reduce the hiring of foreign professionals at low wages and select only the most highly skilled, thereby increasing job opportunities for American graduates and local workers.
However, this strict set of rules also contains some special exemptions. The hefty fee does not apply to foreign students who are already studying in the US and apply for an H-1B. Likewise, candidates who change their visa status internally without leaving the country have also been exempted from the fee. But the heavy financial burden is certain to fall on new engineers and technology professionals who apply directly for US jobs from countries such as India.
Since the largest share of those who benefit from US H-1B visas are Indian techies, this extension has come as a big shock to the Indian IT industry and to thousands of young engineers dreaming of the dollar.