A recent sharp increase in H-1B visa fees to $100,000 for new applicants, a move associated with the Trump administration, may unexpectedly benefit technology professionals recently laid off by major firms like Oracle, Intel, Microsoft, and AWS. According to experts, this policy could incentivize companies to hire from the existing pool of laid-off H-1B holders who already possess active visas.
Data from the monitoring platform Trueup, reported by ET, highlights the scale of the job cuts, with 533 rounds of layoffs at tech firms in 2025 alone affecting 144,926 individuals. This follows a challenging 2024, which saw 1,115 rounds of staff reductions impacting 238,461 professionals. For an H-1B visa holder, a layoff triggers a critical 60-day window to find new employment or leave the United States.
Navneet S Chugh, an attorney at the US-based immigration law firm Chugh LLC, suggested, “Some of the ones laid off might be getting a call back.” He clarified, as did the White House on Sunday, that the new fee does not apply to current H-1B workers seeking renewals, re-entries, or employer transfers.
This creates a distinct advantage for those already in the system. Sachin Alug, CEO of recruitment company NLB Services, told ET that these professionals represent a “ready-to-deploy talent pool.” He explained, “Because they already hold H-1B status, they can often transition through a transfer petition without re-entering the lottery, making them highly attractive in terms of speed and cost efficiency.”
Silver Lining for Laid-Off Professionals
This nuance has sparked hope among affected workers. A product manager in Mountain View, California, who was laid off on September 8, said, “The moment I heard the news, I thought my days in the US were officially over. But after the clarification, there is a renewed hope.”
Sanketh Chengappa KG, Director and Business Head of professional staffing at Adecco India, echoed this sentiment, noting that many affected professionals may now receive rehiring opportunities or attractive offers from other organizations, creating a select talent pool for crucial roles in technology and digital sectors.
Differential Impact on Companies
Immigration specialists indicate that major US corporations like Amazon, Meta, and Google, with their substantial financial resources, are best positioned to absorb the higher fees for new skilled hires. They noted that the $100,000 fee is comparable to the annual compensation of a typical employee recruited under this program.
However, the impact across the industry is expected to be uneven. Debarghya Das, a partner at US-based Menlo Ventures, remarked, “The expectation is that IT services organisations and employers offering lower wages will bear the brunt, accounting for approximately 40-60% of all H-1B applications.”
Das further clarified that major technology companies typically have a modest proportion of staff on H-1B visas, often below 15%, with most applications being renewals. Using Microsoft as an example, he noted, “Microsoft, for example, had less than 2,000 net new H-1B last year… This may not be enough for them to significantly reduce H-1B hiring,” suggesting the financial impact on tech giants may be manageable within their large R&D budgets.
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