America proposes new US$103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals

The US has proposed a new US$103,265 fee for H-1B visa petitions – a move that could ramp up the cost of hiring skilled foreign workers, with Chinese and Indian professionals particularly hard hit.It comes at a sensitive time for China-relations" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="110704" data-entity-type="event">US-China relations, with visas already a long-running source of friction and Beijing stepping up efforts to attract Global tech talent as competition intensifies between the world’s two largest economies.The US Department of Homeland Security proposed the additional fee on Monday for every H-1B petition subject to the annual numerical cap of 85,000 visas. That figure includes the 20,000 visas reserved for people holding US master’s degrees or higher. Employers would pay the new charge when filing a petition, on top of existing fees.