Indians To Be Affected As US Hikes Fees For H-1B & Other Visa Categories

New Delhi: The United States has announced a steep increase in fees for various categories of non-immigrant visas.

Among them are H-1B, L-1 and EB-5, which are the most popular among Indians visiting the US.

It’s the first fee hike since 2016, and will become effective from April 1, 2024, according to a federal notification issued on Wednesday.

H-1B visa is the most sought-after category as it’s a non-immigrant visa which allows American companies to hire foreign workers. Technology companies depend on H-1B visa to rope in thousands of employees every year, mostly from India and China.

The fee for H-1B visa application has been increased from $460 to $780. H-1B registration will go up from $10 to a whopping $215, but from next year.

L-1 visa, a non-immigrant visa designed for intra-company transferees, allows MNCs to transfer certain employees from their foreign offices to work in the US temporarily.

Fee for L-1 visas is being raised from $460 to $1,385.

The EB-5 programme lets affluent foreign investors to obtain visa for themselves and their families by investing $5,00,000 in an American business that helps create 10 jobs for US workers.

Popularly known as investors’ visas, the fee for EB-5 visas will jump from $3,675 to $11,160.