New H-1B rules not to affect existing visa holders: US administration clarifies

Following the chaos caused by US President Donald Trump’s new proclamation and tech companies asking employees to return immediately, the US administration has issued a clarification on the applicability of the new rules.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in post on social media X, clarified that the payment of $100,000 would not be an annual fee, but, will have to be paid one-time while applying for an H1-B visa.

Further, the administration also clarified that existing H-1B visas who are currently not in the US, will not be impacted and they will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter the borders of America. Also, there would be no restriction on the movement of such visa holders and they would be free to leave and re-enter the country.

The payment of $100,000 would be applicable to only those who are applying for a fresh H1-B visa in the next cycle of visa allotments and not to those who already possess the category of visa before September 21, 2025, or those seeking renewals.

Further, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) also has issued a memo clarifying the restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, which would be applicable prospectively to those visa petitions that have not been filed yet.

“The proclamation does not apply to aliens who: are the beneficiaries of petitions that were filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation, are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or are in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas. All officers of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall ensure that their decisions are consistent with this guidance. The proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to or from the United States," the memo said.

After the White House’s announcement of the new visa rules , much of the confusion was due to the wording of the proclamation.

The restriction on entry was qualified with “ for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000—subject to the exceptions set forth in subsection (c) of this section. This restriction shall expire, absent extension, 12 months after the effective date of this proclamation, which shall be 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025” , the proclamation stated.

The use of ‘supplemented’ gave rise to confusion if the existing visa holders had to pay the amount. Also, the use of the word 'annually' had indicated that it would be recurring fees , which now stands clarified .