Officials clarified that the charge will apply only to new applications and not to existing H-1B visa holders, even if they travel in and out of the country.

“This is NOT an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies only to the petition,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt wrote on X. “Current H-1B visa holders abroad will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter the United States.”

The clarification came a day after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested the fee might be annual, creating confusion and prompting major employers such as Microsoft, JPMorgan and Amazon to advise staff to avoid international travel. A memo from Goldman Sachs also urged employees with H-1B visas to be cautious.

The executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday night imposes the $100,000 charge on new H-1B petitions as part of an effort to “level the playing field” for American workers. The White House said exceptions could be made “if in the national interest.”

The order further directs the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to issue enforcement guidelines, conduct audits, and revise prevailing wage rules to prioritize high-skilled, high-paid H-1B workers.

Also Read: Trump imposes $100,000 annual fee on H-1B worker visas

Industry leaders voiced alarm over this order. Indian IT body Nasscom warned that the measure could disrupt the movement of skilled professionals to the U.S. Meanwhile, social media platforms buzzed with accounts of H-1B holders rushing back to America before the rules took effect.

The White House fact sheet highlighted that H-1B visa holders now make up over 65% of IT jobs, compared with 32% in 2003, underscoring the program’s scale and the stakes of the new policy.