Washington, Aug 5:
The United States is considering expanding additional fees on H-1B and L-1 visa renewals, a move that could significantly impact Indian professionals and major tech firms.
The proposal, under review by the Donald Trump administration, seeks to extend the “9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee” to visa extension applications, which currently applies only to new petitions.
If implemented, companies with over 50 employees—where more than half are on H-1B or L-1 visas—will have to pay thousands of dollars even for routine renewals. This could sharply raise costs for employers relying on foreign talent, particularly Indian workers who dominate H-1B extensions.
Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that nearly 72% of H-1B approvals in 2025 were for continuing employment, with Indians accounting for over 77% of those cases. Large IT firms such as Amazon, TCS, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google are expected to be among the hardest hit.