New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- India's information technology firms, the top users of H-1B visas to deploy workers in the US, face a new challenge after a significant spike in costs.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order sharply increasing fees for each foreign worker on an H-1B visa to $100,000 from about $1,000. Though the administration clarified later that this would be a one-time fee for future visas and would not affect existing visas or renewals, market sentiments have soured towards the sector.

Apart from IT, the Trump measure casts a shadow over healthcare workers and Indian students with US job offers, among others. Confusion over the visa rules led to a scramble for flights to the US. For the tech sector in p...