US Immigration authority starts issuing demand for $100K H-1B fee; visa experts ‘decode’ the rise in demand for RFEs

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USICS) has started issuing Requests for Evidence (RFEs) demanding payment of the newly imposed $1,00,000 H-1B visa fee. These RFEs issued by USICS has triggered confusion and concerns among the immigration attorneys and employers. This move made by USICS follows the presidential proclamation made in September this year. For those unaware, US President Donald Trump passed a new order in September 2025 while led to massive increase in the H-1B visa fee. As per the new order, the fresh H-1B visa applications will now be charged a fee of $100,000. Now a report by Economic Times suggests that the increase in the number of RFEs is creating confusion as these requests are appearing in cases where the fee requirement is not applicable. For the uninitiated, RFE is a formal notice issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when an immigration officer determines that a petition or application lacks sufficient documentation to make a decision.