H-1B row: USCIS say L1 and F1 visa holders exempted from $100,000 fee - rule doesn't apply to 'change of status'
Posted on: Oct 21, 2025 02:31 IST | Posted by: Hindustantimes
In what could be a swelled ease for existing US visa holders, the United States Citizenship and in-migration Services (USCIS) clarified in a invigorated guideline mon that existing visa holders will not have to pay the newly announced $100,000 fee for a "change of status" to H-1B visa.
The new USCIS guideline said existing visa holders, which include international students on F-1 visas and professionals on L-1 visas, will not have to pay $100,000 when they apply for a change of status to H-1B. Existing H-1B visa holders are also exempted from this fee while renewing their H-1B status, the USCIS said.
The fee of $100,000 was instituted by President Donald Trump through a proclamation on September 20, 2025 which said that individuals applying for H-1B visas at or after 12:01 a.m. Will have to pay the fee. After Trump's proclamation, the USCIS put up a guideline on it where it said existing visa holders will not have to pay the fee - but the specific details were left vague.
In the guidelines issued on Friday, they have been addressed in detail in a section titled, 'Who Is Subject To The $100,000 Fee.' It says the proclamation "does not apply to any previously issued and currently valid H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. Eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025.
Additionally, the new guidelines stated that the proclamation "does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa, or any alien beneficiary following petition approval, from traveling in and out of the United States."
This story is being updated.
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