US President Donald Trump has extended the controversial $100,000 payment required for certain H-1B visa petitions by another year, keeping the measure in place until September 21, 2027.
The extension comes as legal challenges against the policy continue in US courts. The White House said the executive order behind the payment, originally issued in September 2025, had been due to expire this month.
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The H-1B programme allows US employers to hire skilled foreign workers, particularly in fields such as technology, engineering and other specialised professions. The continuation of the $100,000 payment could have a significant impact on Indian professionals because India accounts for the largest share of approved H-1B beneficiaries by country of birth.
According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services data for fiscal year 2024, people born in India accounted for 71% of approved H-1B petitions. China followed with about 12%.
For Indian professionals outside the US seeking to enter the country through an H-1B opportunity, the continued payment could increase the cost for employers sponsoring their applications. The measure is therefore particularly relevant to India’s large technology and professional workforce seeking employment in the United States.
The Trump administration has defended the policy by arguing that the H-1B system has been misused, particularly by some IT staffing and outsourcing companies. According to the White House, certain employers had used H-1B workers in lower-paid positions and, in some cases, subsequently moved jobs overseas.
The administration has said these practices contributed to wage pressures and made it harder for some US workers and recent STEM graduates to find employment.
The White House said the $100,000 payment had been made for more than 700 petitions since the restriction took effect on September 21, 2025.
The latest extension also comes alongside changes to the H-1B selection process. A Department of Homeland Security rule introduced a weighted selection system that gives greater priority to applicants associated with higher-skilled and higher-paid positions. The system was used for the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap season.
The administration said the combination of the higher payment and the revised selection process had significantly altered filing patterns.
The proclamation cited a 92% decline in combined H-1B registrations by major IT staffing and outsourcing companies, from 24,946 to 2,055. It also pointed to an almost 97% drop in consular-processing requests between the FY2025 and FY2027 cap seasons.
At the same time, the share of FY2027 registrants with at least a US master’s degree increased from 45.1% in FY2026 to 66.1% in FY2027.
Registrations corresponding to the two highest wage levels represented about 46.3% of selections, while the lowest wage level accounted for 17.8%.
The September 18 proclamation requires the administration to review the measure after the next H-1B lottery and recommend whether it should be extended again.
Separately, the Department of Homeland Security has proposed a $103,265 H-1B fee under a different legal authority. That proposal is separate from the existing $100,000 payment.
