US plans new fees for H-1B renewals, likely to hit Indian professionals

The administration of US President Donald Trump is making the H-1B regime tougher by expanding an additional visa fee for extending existing visas. Till now, the fee had to be paid only for new H-1B and L-1 visas. This could sharply increase costs for companies seeking to retain exiting foreign workers in the US on visas like the H-1B visa, and hit Indian professionals who accounted for a majority of all H-1B renewals in 2025.

This comes after a US federal appeals court last month refused to pause a lower court order that struck down the Trump administration's decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.

The detailed proposal (officially known as a Notice of Proposed Rule-making) was first published by the Department of Homeland Security and the Customs and Border Protection Agency in June 2024. It was published in the US Federal Register.

The proposal later appeared as a pending final-rule item in the Trump administration’s 2026 Unified Regulatory Agenda (released around early July by DHS and other agencies), with a final rule expected in the coming weeks. The final rule will be made public by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the US government.

"The 9-11 Response and Biometric



Entry-Exit Fees for H-1B and L-1 Visas (9-11 Response Fees) are fees paid by certain employers of H-1B and L non-immigrant workers. To implement Public Law 114-113, DHS is amending and clarifying the regulations to specify that the 9-11 Response Fees will apply to all H-1B and L-1 extension petitions in addition to all previously covered H-1B and L-1 petitions," the rule item read.

If implemented, eligible employers would pay the "9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee" not only for new H-1B and L-1 petitions and change of employer-filings, but also when seeking routine extensions of stay for existing employees.

Currently, the fee applies only when an eligible employer files for an initial H-1B of L-1 petition, or when a foreign worker changes employers. Under the proposed rule, the fee would also become payable whenever the same employers seek to extend the stay of an existing H-1B or L-1 worker.

The proposal to expand the ambit of the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee targets employers with 50 or more employees in the US where at least half of the employed workforce holds H-1B and L-1 status. These employers currently shell out at least 4,000 dollars for new H-1B petitions and 4,500 dollars for new L-1 petitions. The proposal would extend these charges to all extension-of-stay petitions filed by these employers.