$100,000 visa fee: Blessing in disguise for laid off H-1B tech workers?

Donald Trump’s H-1B visa interest hike whitethorn crook retired to beryllium a blessing successful disguise for techies who person precocious been laid disconnected by firms similar Oracle, Intel, Microsoft, and AWS. The caller H-1B visa interest hike to $100,000 for caller applicants could promote employers to see recruiting H-1B holders who person precocious been laid off.Since the commencement of 2025, 533 rounds of layoffs astatine exertion firms person affected 144,926 individuals, according to information from monitoring level Trueup reported by ET. The platform's information indicates that 2024 saw 1,115 rounds of unit reductions astatine tech organisations, impacting 238,461 professionals.Individuals connected H-1B visas who look layoffs whilst holding an progressive visa presumption person a 60-day model to unafraid alternate employment oregon depart from the United States."Some of the ones laid disconnected mightiness beryllium getting a telephone back," said Navneet S Chugh, lawyer astatine US-based migration instrumentality steadfast Chugh LLC, whilst noting that existent H-1B visa workers, renewals, re-entries and leader transfers stay exempt from this fee, arsenic clarified by the White House connected Sunday.

"For employers that enactment rapidly and navigate compliance effectively, precocious laid-off H-1B professionals correspond a ready-to-deploy endowment pool," Sachin Alug, CEO of recruitment institution NLB Services, told ET.

"Because they already clasp H-1B status, they tin often modulation done a transportation petition without re-entering the lottery, making them highly charismatic successful presumption of velocity and outgo efficiency.

"Also Read | After $100,000 fee, Trump medication looks to wantonness lottery strategy for H-1B visas; here’s the projected caller enactment criteria

Silver lining for laid disconnected tech workers with H-1B visas

A merchandise manager successful Mountain View, California, whose employment astatine a consulting organisation ended connected September 8, was quoted arsenic saying, "The infinitesimal I heard the news, I thought my days successful the US were officially over.

But aft the clarification, determination is simply a renewed hope. I americium aggressively applying and expecting recruitment calls implicit the adjacent week."According to Sanketh Chengappa KG, manager and concern head-professional staffing astatine Adecco India, galore affected professionals mightiness person opportunities for rehiring oregon charismatic offers from alternate organisations, creating a prime excavation of readily disposable endowment for important positions, peculiarly successful technology, engineering and strategical integer sectors.

Major US corporations including Amazon, Meta, and Google are anticipated to payment chiefly from the H-1B visa modifications, arsenic they person the fiscal capableness to accommodate accrued fees for skilled professionals, according to migration specialists. The $100,000 interest corresponds to the yearly compensation of a modular worker recruited done this programme, they indicated."The interaction connected companies remains uncertain astatine this stage," remarked Debarghya Das, spouse astatine US-based Menlo Ventures.

"The anticipation is that IT services organisations and employers offering little wages volition carnivore the brunt, accounting for astir 40-60% of each H-1B applications."Also Read | Trump’s H-1B visa interest hike to backfire? Wall Street banks acceptable to trust much connected Indian GCCs; whitethorn deepen beingness successful IndiaTechnology corporations typically support a humble H-1B workforce, with nether 15% of unit connected these visas, and astir applications from large tech firms being renewals, Das noted, adding, "Microsoft, for example, had little than 2,000 nett caller H-1B past year, which is $200 cardinal successful fees, a 0.6% summation successful yearly R&D (research and development) walk of $30 cardinal for the company. This whitethorn not beryllium capable for them to importantly trim H-1B hiring."