Trump H-1B Restriction: How It Deeply Affects Indians?

United States president Donald Trump has started to impose a new regulation in the H-1B visa issuance policy by regulating the pricing model at $100,000. This decision is going to seriously affect the Indian community and here’s a look into the story behind the same.

The H-1B visa was originally created to bring highly skilled workers to America for a temporary period. However, the government says many companies, especially in the IT industry, have misused it.

Instead of hiring American workers, they brought in cheaper foreign workers on H-1B visas. This, according to the proclamation, lowered wages in the tech sector and made it harder for newly graduated American students to find jobs.

Statistics show that from 2000 to 2019, the number of foreign STEM workers in the U.S. doubled from 1.2 million to nearly 2.5 million. Even in 2025, many large IT companies are hiring thousands of H-1B workers while laying off thousands of American employees.

There are also reports that some American workers were forced to train the foreign workers who would replace them, and sign NDAs to stay silent about it.

The proclamation also raises national security concerns. Some outsourcing companies dependent on H-1B visas were allegedly involved in visa fraud, money laundering, and even crimes under the RICO Act.

Main order: Starting September 21, 2025, and lasting for 12 months, H-1B workers outside the U.S. can only enter if their petition includes an extra $100,000 fee. Without paying this, they will not be allowed entry. Only those who fall under the “national interest” category, as decided by the Secretary of Homeland Security, are exempt.

The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department will enforce this rule. The Department of Labor will also raise prevailing wage levels, and DHS will prioritize workers with very high skills and salaries.

What does this essentially mean?

This is almost a total ban on new H-1B visas. The huge fee means universities, hospitals, and small companies cannot afford to bring in workers anymore.