White House says Trump's H-1B visa changes will only affect new applicants
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- A White House official said that the $100,000 H-1B visa fee only applies to new applicants.
- Amid uncertainty, tech companies have urged H-1B holders to return to the US.
- President Donald Trump says he was imposing the new fee to prevent abuse of the visa.
After Trump announced a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas in an executive order on Friday, stakeholders scrambled to understand who exactly it impacts.
A White House official told Business Insider on Saturday that the fee will only apply to new applicants, not current lawful H-1B visa holders.
"This is a one-time fee that applies only to the petition," a White House official told Business Insider. "It ONLY applies to new visas, not renewals or current visa holders. It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle."
Trump's executive order does not include such explicit language. The official's statement that the fee will not apply to renewals also contradicts what Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters on Friday in the Oval Office.
Amid the uncertainty, Amazon and Microsoft have urged H-1B visa holders who are now abroad to return to the United States before Trump's order goes into effect on September 21.
Trump and Lutnick said the executive order was needed to prevent abuse of the H-1B visa program. Tech companies have historically used H-1B visas to hire skilled foreign workers.