H-1B Visa Fee Hike To Disrupt Indian Families, Full Implications Being Studied: MEA

India on Saturday said the Trump administration's new restrictions on H1B visa programme are likely to have humanitarian consequences and hoped that the 'disruptions' would be addressed suitably by US authorities. India's reaction came hours after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation to impose a $100,000 annual fee for the new H-1B visas, a move that is set to adversely impact Indian professionals in the US.

''This measure is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families,' External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. ''The government hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities,'' he said.

Jaiswal highlighted the 'full implications' of the measure are being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry. ''Industries in both India and the US have a 'stake in innovation and creativity and can be expected to consult on the best path forward,'' he said.

''Skilled talent mobility and exchanges have contributed enormously to technology development, innovation, economic growth, competitiveness and wealth creation in the US and India,'' he said. ''Policy makers will therefore assess recent steps taking into account mutual benefits, which include strong people-to-people ties between the two countries,'' Jaiswal added.

Trump's restrictions on the popular employment visa regime is seen as part of larger efforts to crack down on immigration. The H1B visa is valid for three years and can be renewed for three more years. Indians make up an estimated 71% of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

At present, the H-1B visa fee that companies pay to sponsor H1-B applicants ranges from about $2,000 to $5,000, depending on employer size and other costs. Nasscom, an umbrella body that represents India's $283 billion IT and technology industry, said the restrictions will impact Indian nationals on H-1B visas as well as India's technology services companies.

In the proclamation, Trump said the H-1B visa programme was created to bring 'temporary workers into the US to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour'.

'The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security.' Trump said some employers have abused the H-1B statute and its regulations to artificially suppress wages, resulting in a 'disadvantageous labour market' for American citizens.