<h1>U.S. presidential fee hike makes one-time $100,000 charge for new H-1B applicants, spurs steep losses for IT firms</h1> A US presidential proclamation raised a one-time fee for new H-1B visa applicants to USD 100,000, a regulatory change the administration later clarified applies only to new applicants. The measure triggered a sharp market reaction: leading Indian IT firms saw share prices fall and a combined market-cap erosion of about Rs 83,994 crore, dragging national indices lower and reducing the IT index by 2.73%. Market participants warned the fee hike could materially increase hiring costs and disrupt prevailing IT outsourcing models, potentially prompting contractual, operational and immigration-compliance reassessments by affected firms.