No USD 100,000 fee on F1 to H1-B visa conversion: USCIS
The biggest takeaway for employers is that the fee would not apply to 'change of status' cases where people change from one category to another without leaving the country, such as moving from F-1 student status to H-1B status
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Monday (October 20) issued a clarification about the $100,000 (Appromimately Rs 88 lakh) H-1B visa fee that is being viewed as a big relief for existing US visa holders.
The biggest takeaway for employers is that the USCIS has clarified that the fee would not apply to “change of status" cases where people change from one category to another without leaving the country, such as moving from F-1 student status to H-1B status, according to a report in Forbes website.
This means that recent international college graduates who are sponsored for H-1B status while in the US will not have to pay the hefty sum of $100,000 that was imposed on the programme by the Trump administration last month.
Good news for Indian students, workers in US
The latest guideline by the US government makes an attempt to clear the confusion surrounding the H1-B visa fee since the Presidential Proclamation was issued on September 19 this year.
The USCIS clarification would seem to indicate that not only college graduates on F-1 student status but also employees on L-1 visas who are already in the US will be exempt from the $100,000 visa fee.
Multinational companies use the L-1 visa, a non-immigrant US work visa, to transfer employees from their offices abroad to their US offices.
Also Read: Trump administration plans new curbs on H-1B visas to protect US workers
An F-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa for foreign students who intend to study full-time at an accredited institution in America.
The USCIS however specified that petitions filed for workers outside the US or for workers who have to leave America before a petition is adjudicated will have to pay the fee.
The agency also said that current H-1B visa holders will be allowed to leave or enter the United States.
Disruptive measure
The presidential proclamation last month about the new fee for H-1B visas was one of the most disruptive measures by President Donald Trump aimed at reducing the number of foreign workers in the US.
The Trump administration said the new measure would address the “abuse of the programme” by certain sections of the industry.
Also Read: Coalition in San Francisco sues to block Trump’s USD 100,000 H-1B visa fee
Several lawsuits have been filed in the US against the$100,000 fee for the H-1B visa, warning that it would have disastrous consequences on several industries in the US that struggle to fill key positions.