Indian professionals are set to be hit hard as US President Donald Trump’s order imposing a steep $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications takes effect from Sunday.
Trump has signed a proclamation raising the one-time fee used for bringing skilled foreign workers into the US to $100,000 (about Rs 88 lakh).
The new fees are prohibitive, with some saying it even exceeds annual salaries of many professionals, potentially deterring several firms from sponsoring employees, barring the high-value, high-skilled ones they want to retain at any cost.
ALSO READ: IT professional hit hardest by Trump's H-1B move: Cost to company too high for sponsoring (most) staff
Indian IT professionals make up the majority of H-1B visa holders in the US, far ahead of China, Canada, and South Korea, among others.
A (L)oophole
According to Rajneesh Pathak, founder and CEO of GlobalNorth, an investment advisory firm, L1 is already being used by companies to avoid the uncertainty surrounding H-1B.
Similarly, Rohit Jain, managing partner of law firm Singhania & Co said the new $100,000 fee is expected to push companies towards L-1. However, L-1 visas require the employee to have worked for the company abroad for at least a year, making it unsuitable for new hires.
ALSO READ: Entry restrictions, extension exemptions, and next steps for H-1B holders: An immigration lawyer decodes
What is an L-1 visa?
The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa category in the United States that is designed for intracompany transferees. It allows multinational companies to transfer certain employees from their foreign offices to work in the U.S. temporarily.
The L-1 visa is a popular choice for multinational companies to transfer key personnel to the United States, allowing them to manage operations, oversee projects, and share specialized knowledge while maintaining the company’s global presence.
The L-1 visa is divided into two subcategories:
L-1A Visa: This category is for managers and executives who are being transferred to a U.S. office that is a subsidiary, branch, affiliate, or parent company of the foreign employer.
L-1B Visa: This category is for employees with specialized knowledge who are being transferred to a U.S. office of the same multinational company. Specialized knowledge typically refers to advanced knowledge or expertise in the company’s products, processes, technology, or other areas.
Eligibility for L-1 visa
To be eligible for an L-1 visa, both the employee (visa applicant) and the employer (sponsor) must meet specific eligibility requirements. Here are the general eligibility requirements for the L-1 visa:
For the Employee (L-1 Applicant)
Employment with a Qualifying Organization: The employee must be currently employed by a qualifying multinational organization with a relationship to the U.S. employer. The organization must be a parent company, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch office of the U.S. entity.
Position Qualification: For L-1A (Managers/Executives), the employee must be coming to the U.S. to work in a managerial or executive capacity. This typically involves overseeing a significant portion of the organization’s operations or managing a critical function. For L-1B (Specialized Knowledge), the employee must possess specialized knowledge of the organization’s products, services, technology, or procedures. Specialized knowledge means advanced knowledge that is not commonly possessed by other employees in the industry.
One Year of Employment: The employee must have worked for the foreign company continuously for at least one year within the three years immediately preceding the L-1 visa application. This period of employment must have occurred outside the U.S.
For the Employer (Sponsor)
Qualifying Relationship: The U.S. employer must have a “qualifying relationship” with the foreign entity employing the visa holder. This includes parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch office relationships. The organizations should demonstrate a significant level of control or ownership by the same parent or entity.
Conducting Business in the US: The U.S. employer must be actively doing business in the U.S. and must have a physical office or facility where the employee will work. In the case of a new office, the U.S. entity must demonstrate a plan to support the employee’s position.
Employment Offer: The U.S. employer must extend a valid employment offer to the employee and be willing to file an L-1 petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on the employee’s behalf.
Challenges around L-1 visa
Ankit Mehra, CEO of GyanDhan, an education financing marketplace, highlighted that the L-1 route comes with its own challenges.
“Historically, whenever H-1B fees were increased, the L-1 was also targeted, particularly because both categories are heavily used by global IT and outsourcing firms,” said Mehra. “Scrutiny of L-1 visas has already been stringent, especially for specialised-knowledge petitions, where the definition is applied very narrowly. If more companies start shifting to L-1 as a workaround to rising H-1B costs, we expect US authorities to tighten their review further. That could mean more paperwork, higher rejection rates, and greater compliance checks.”
India may benefit
The disruptive impact is already visible, with companies like Microsoft and Amazon urging H-1B and H-4 employees abroad to return to the US immediately and advising those already inside the country not to travel, said Ankita Singh, founder of Sarvaank Associates, a boutique law firm.
“Far from protecting American jobs, this move looks like a self-inflicted wound on US innovation. It risks choking the flow of essential talent to startups, driving companies to move jobs offshore, and handing countries like India an unexpected blessing in disguise,” Singh said.
Rocky road ahead
Going ahead, both professionals and employers will have their task cut out. “For anyone working in a country that is not their own, any change in visa applications will always make them apprehensive,” said Adarsh Khandelwal, co-founder of education services company Collegify. “However, that also includes their employers, since that means letting go of their valuable employees and searching for an American equivalent with the same skill sets and work ethos.”
Trump has signed a proclamation raising the one-time fee used for bringing skilled foreign workers into the US to $100,000 (about Rs 88 lakh).
The new fees are prohibitive, with some saying it even exceeds annual salaries of many professionals, potentially deterring several firms from sponsoring employees, barring the high-value, high-skilled ones they want to retain at any cost.
ALSO READ: IT professional hit hardest by Trump's H-1B move: Cost to company too high for sponsoring (most) staff
Indian IT professionals make up the majority of H-1B visa holders in the US, far ahead of China, Canada, and South Korea, among others.
A (L)oophole
According to Rajneesh Pathak, founder and CEO of GlobalNorth, an investment advisory firm, L1 is already being used by companies to avoid the uncertainty surrounding H-1B.
Similarly, Rohit Jain, managing partner of law firm Singhania & Co said the new $100,000 fee is expected to push companies towards L-1. However, L-1 visas require the employee to have worked for the company abroad for at least a year, making it unsuitable for new hires.
ALSO READ: Entry restrictions, extension exemptions, and next steps for H-1B holders: An immigration lawyer decodes
What is an L-1 visa?
The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa category in the United States that is designed for intracompany transferees. It allows multinational companies to transfer certain employees from their foreign offices to work in the U.S. temporarily.
The L-1 visa is a popular choice for multinational companies to transfer key personnel to the United States, allowing them to manage operations, oversee projects, and share specialized knowledge while maintaining the company’s global presence.
The L-1 visa is divided into two subcategories:
To be eligible for an L-1 visa, both the employee (visa applicant) and the employer (sponsor) must meet specific eligibility requirements. Here are the general eligibility requirements for the L-1 visa:
For the Employee (L-1 Applicant)
Employment with a Qualifying Organization: The employee must be currently employed by a qualifying multinational organization with a relationship to the U.S. employer. The organization must be a parent company, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch office of the U.S. entity.
Position Qualification: For L-1A (Managers/Executives), the employee must be coming to the U.S. to work in a managerial or executive capacity. This typically involves overseeing a significant portion of the organization’s operations or managing a critical function. For L-1B (Specialized Knowledge), the employee must possess specialized knowledge of the organization’s products, services, technology, or procedures. Specialized knowledge means advanced knowledge that is not commonly possessed by other employees in the industry.
One Year of Employment: The employee must have worked for the foreign company continuously for at least one year within the three years immediately preceding the L-1 visa application. This period of employment must have occurred outside the U.S.
For the Employer (Sponsor)
Qualifying Relationship: The U.S. employer must have a “qualifying relationship” with the foreign entity employing the visa holder. This includes parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch office relationships. The organizations should demonstrate a significant level of control or ownership by the same parent or entity.
Conducting Business in the US: The U.S. employer must be actively doing business in the U.S. and must have a physical office or facility where the employee will work. In the case of a new office, the U.S. entity must demonstrate a plan to support the employee’s position.
Employment Offer: The U.S. employer must extend a valid employment offer to the employee and be willing to file an L-1 petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on the employee’s behalf.
Challenges around L-1 visa
Ankit Mehra, CEO of GyanDhan, an education financing marketplace, highlighted that the L-1 route comes with its own challenges.
“Historically, whenever H-1B fees were increased, the L-1 was also targeted, particularly because both categories are heavily used by global IT and outsourcing firms,” said Mehra. “Scrutiny of L-1 visas has already been stringent, especially for specialised-knowledge petitions, where the definition is applied very narrowly. If more companies start shifting to L-1 as a workaround to rising H-1B costs, we expect US authorities to tighten their review further. That could mean more paperwork, higher rejection rates, and greater compliance checks.”
India may benefit
The disruptive impact is already visible, with companies like Microsoft and Amazon urging H-1B and H-4 employees abroad to return to the US immediately and advising those already inside the country not to travel, said Ankita Singh, founder of Sarvaank Associates, a boutique law firm.
“Far from protecting American jobs, this move looks like a self-inflicted wound on US innovation. It risks choking the flow of essential talent to startups, driving companies to move jobs offshore, and handing countries like India an unexpected blessing in disguise,” Singh said.
Rocky road ahead
Going ahead, both professionals and employers will have their task cut out. “For anyone working in a country that is not their own, any change in visa applications will always make them apprehensive,” said Adarsh Khandelwal, co-founder of education services company Collegify. “However, that also includes their employers, since that means letting go of their valuable employees and searching for an American equivalent with the same skill sets and work ethos.”
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