Some 71% of H-1B visa holders in America are from India and officials in India have been increasingly critical of the Sept. 19 proclamation by U.S. President Donald Trump, which adds a new $100,000 fee on each visa effective Sept. 21. The previous cost of a H-1B visa included a $215 processing fee and nearly the entire cost of the process was to be paid by the company hiring the foreign worker. The visa program also involved a lottery. President Trump has also promoted the $1 million “Gold Visa,” which promises a path to U.S. citizenship, and the $5 million “Trump Platinum Visa” which allows foreigners to spend up to 270 days in the U.S. without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income. These pricey visas have been called a new “travel ban.”
A statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs warned of “humanitarian consequences” of the new fee and Indian officials have said that the exchange of skilled workers has “contributed enormously” to both nations. Another minister said that the U.S. was “afraid of our talent.”
