NextFin news, On Saturday, September 20, 2025, major US technology firms such as Microsoft and Meta issued internal advisories urging their Indian employees holding H-1B and H-4 visas to stay within the United States and avoid traveling abroad. This guidance comes in anticipation of a new $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas, which takes effect on Sunday, September 21, 2025.
The fee hike, announced by US President Donald Trump, represents a significant increase from previous visa fees, which ranged from $1,700 to $4,500. The new fee is expected to remain in effect for 12 months and aims to generate over $100 billion for the US Treasury, earmarked for national debt reduction and tax cuts.
Microsoft has strongly recommended that H-1B and H-4 visa holders currently outside the US return within 24 hours before the fee implementation. Employees already in the US have been advised to remain in the country for at least 14 days and to stay until practical implications of the new fee are fully understood. Meta has similarly urged its visa-holding employees to avoid international travel for the foreseeable future to prevent complications with re-entry.
These advisories reflect concerns that the new fee could significantly increase costs for companies employing skilled foreign workers, particularly Indian professionals who constitute approximately 71% of H-1B visa holders. Indian IT firms such as Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, and Tata Consultancy Services are among the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B program.
In response to the fee hike, some Indian IT companies have been reducing their reliance on H-1B visas by increasing local hiring in the US, expanding US delivery centers, and leveraging offshore and nearshore operations. For example, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employs over 50% of its US workforce locally, and Infosys reports over 60% local hiring in the US. Other firms like HCLTech and Wipro have H-1B visa dependencies as low as 20%.
Despite these shifts, the demand for H-1B visas remains strong due to ongoing US skill shortages in STEM fields, digital transformation, AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. USCIS data indicates a 3.1% increase in H-1B applications and a 4% increase in approvals in 2024 compared to 2023, with an approval rate of 98.4%.
The sharp fee increase has sparked criticism and legal challenges, with opponents arguing that it hampers talent mobility and innovation. Meanwhile, US tech giants, which are among the largest users of H-1B visas for specialized roles such as AI engineers and data scientists, face potential margin pressures and operational disruptions.
In summary, as the $100,000 annual H-1B visa fee comes into effect on Sunday, September 21, 2025, US tech companies are actively advising their Indian visa-holding employees to remain in the US to avoid the financial and logistical challenges posed by the new regulation.
Sources: Business Today (https://www.businesstoday.in/nri/visa/story/do-what-you-can-to-return-to-us-american-tech-giant-warns-indian-staff-on-trumps-h-1b-fee-hike-494910-2025-09-20), Telangana Today (https://telanganatoday.com/us-tech-firms-urge-h-1b-h-4-visa-holders-to-return-before-100000-fee-kicks-in), NDTV Profit (https://www.ndtvprofit.com/business/trump-h1b-visa-fee-hike-meta-microsoft-urge-visa-holders-to-return-to-us-quickly-not-leave-for-foreseeable-future)
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