U.S. plans to increase the application fee for H1-B

The US plans to increase the H-1B visa application fee to increase funding for an apprentice program expansion, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta told American lawmakers, a move that would impose an additional financial burden on Indian IT companies.

Testifying to a Congressional Committee on the Department of Labor’s annual budget for the fiscal year 2020 starting on 1 October 2019, he said that the Labor Department also made changes to the H-1B application forms to ensure greater transparency and better protect American workers from employers seeking to misuse the program.

Acosta, however, did not give details of the proposed increase in the H-1B filing fee and the categories of applicants it would be enforced on.

But given past experience, the Indian IT companies, which account for a large number of H-1B applications, are likely to face the additional financial burden because of this proposed increase in H-1B filing fees.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.