According to research, young Indian women applicants are likely to be the most negatively impacted by the U.S. government’s recent decision to charge a one-time $1,00,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications. This fee is a significant increase from the present fee of a few thousand dollars. The majority of workers on H-1B visas are men. Men made up 74% of those authorized to continue working (i.e., change or prolong their jobs) in FY24, while women made up only 26%. The chart below displays the approved H-1B beneficiaries in FY 2024 (in percentage terms) by gender and petition type. Women made up 37% of those authorized for starting employment. Given that their percentage of new applications is comparatively large, this suggests that women are catching up to men, who historically dominated the pool of H-1B holders.
Apparently youthful Indian women are especially exposed to the additional $100k visa expense for H-1B
