NEW DELHI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - India said on Saturday

that the Trump administration's move to increase U.S. H-1B visa

fees to $100,000 per year was likely to have humanitarian

consequences, warning of potential disruptions for families.

India was the largest beneficiary of the U.S. H-1B skilled

worker visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved

applications. Companies will now have to pay the new $100,000

per year fee, which is set to take effect from Saturday

midnight. (0400 GMT on Sunday).

The move, announced on Friday, could further strain ties

between India and the U.S., which hit their lowest point in

decades after President Donald Trump last month doubled tariffs

on imports from India to as much as 50%, partly due to New

Delhi's purchases of Russian oil.

"This measure is likely to have humanitarian consequences by

way of the disruption caused for families. Government hopes that

these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the U.S.

authorities," Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's Foreign

Ministry, said in a statement.

Under the current system, entering the lottery for the visa

requires a small fee and, if approved, subsequent fees can

amount to several thousand dollars - just a fraction of the new

price.

Trump has embarked on a wide-ranging immigration crackdown

since taking office, including moves to limit some forms of

legal immigration. The step to reshape the H-1B visa programme,

used heavily by the tech sector, represents his administration's

effort to rework temporary employment visas.

Jaiswal said the full implications of the fee increase were

being studied by "all concerned". He said both United States and

India benefited from skilled worker mobility and their

contribution to innovation, wealth creation and economic growth.

"Policy makers will therefore assess recent steps taking

into account mutual benefits, which include strong

people-to-people ties between the two countries," he said.

The significant hike in visa application fee could disrupt

the global operations of Indian technology services companies

that deploy skilled professionals to the United States, India's

IT industry body Nasscom said earlier in the day.

U.S. companies such as Amazon ( AMZN ) and Microsoft ( MSFT )

have responded to the new fee structure announcement by

advising employees holding H-1B visas to remain in the U.S.