Foreign IT professionals working in the United States, particularly Indians, are staring at another major setback. The Donald Trump administration is preparing to significantly tighten employment-based immigration rules, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) drafting proposals that would eliminate the current 60-day grace period offered to workers who lose their jobs, while also raising fees on new H-1B visa petitions to as much as $103,000 (over Rs 85 lakh).
Under existing rules, employees on H-1B, L-1 or E-3 visas who lose their jobs for any reason are allowed to legally remain in the US for 60 days while they search for new employment or change their visa category. However, under the new draft proposal prepared by DHS, this 60-day “safety window” would be completely eliminated, meaning affected workers would be required to leave the country immediately upon losing their job. The proposal is currently under consideration and has not yet been formally implemented — a final decision will only be made after it is published in the Federal Register.
The government is also preparing to impose a fee of up to $103,265 on cap-subject H-1B visa applications. This steep fee would also apply to professionals transitioning from an F-1 student visa to H-1B status after studying in the US. The government has said the fee hike is expected to generate around $8.8 billion annually, which it plans to channel toward national security and immigration systems. However, American companies and business groups have strongly criticised the move.
According to US immigration data, Indian professionals accounted for 71 percent of all H-1B visas approved in the 2024 fiscal year. As a result, if these new proposals become law, Indian IT employees, engineers and students stand to be the hardest hit. Experts warn that the combination of the fear of having to leave the country immediately upon losing a job, and the added sponsorship burden this places on companies, could put the future of Indians in the United States at serious risk.