Composite story

DHS proposes $103,265 H-1B fee after courts blocked $100,000 charge

A Federal Register rule would attach a six-figure fee to cap-subject H-1B petitions after a judge voided last year’s proclamation. Outlets split on whether it hits workers already in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security proposed a $103,265 fee on cap-subject H-1B petitions after courts blocked a $100,000 proclamation charge. The draft would apply to lottery petitions, including the master’s cap, with a 30-day comment period. Reuters says it would spare people already in the country on student visas; Fox and Bloomberg Law say it would reach in-country hires and some students changing status. Universities and other cap-exempt employers would be spared. DHS calls it cost recovery; Cato and the Chamber say it is prohibitive.

Shared facts

The administration wants to add a $103,265 fee on the H-1B program.

A court blocked a more limited six-figure charge on workers from outside the country.

The draft rule would add the fee to all cap-subject H-1B petitions, including those with master's degrees.

That is a departure from last year’s $100,000 entry-fee proclamation.

Kahler said the fee is meant to recover government costs of adjudicating, vetting, and supporting lawful immigration programs.

The notice is scheduled for Federal Register publication on August 25.

It would make the $103,265 fee permanent.

The public would have 30 days to comment once the rule is published.

The $103,265 charge would be paid in addition to existing H-1B filing fees.

The administration appealed the Boston ruling.

A Boston judge vacated the entry fee as an unlawful tax without congressional delegation.

MAGA-aligned critics say H-1B hiring comes at the expense of U.S. workers.

The program is popular with technology and engineering employers.

It is a proposed rule that must complete the federal regulatory process before it could become final.

The charge could be finalized by the end of the year.

The executive order is due to expire in September unless extended.

Tech companies and business groups say H-1B visas fill specialized jobs when qualified U.S. workers are scarce.

Those employers would be spared under the new proposal.

A different court is considering whether a business-group challenge was properly rejected.

The program is capped at 85,000 slots a year, including 20,000 for advanced-degree holders.

The payment would sit on top of other H-1B fee mandates, including the proclamation if courts revive it.

Routine extensions for current H-1B holders generally are not subject to the annual cap.

The initial proclamation applied to new H-1B hires by universities, hospitals, and research institutions.

Typical fees were $2,000 to $5,000 before Trump's order.

They are generally granted for up to three years and typically extendable to six.

About 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee on 85 applications as of late February.

H-1B visas let U.S. companies hire foreign workers in specialized, high-skill occupations.

Trump invoked power to restrict entry of foreign nationals deemed detrimental to U.S. interests.

The Chamber of Commerce led one of multiple legal challenges to the proclamation.

Recent changes include replacing the lottery with weighted selection favoring higher-salary applicants.

The lawsuits say entry-restriction power cannot override the H-1B statute.

USCIS and the immigration courts would get two-thirds of the fee revenue.

Plaintiffs say DHS cannot impose revenue-raising fees or taxes without Congress.

DHS is also reportedly weighing a $100,000 OPT charge for F-1 graduates.

The administration says the fee is not a traditional tax and that courts have little power to question entry authority.

Those complaints could be altered to challenge the new rule once it is finalized.

It would fund adjudications, fraud detection, national-security vetting, and systems modernization.

Employers registered about 344,000 H-1B visas last year, down more than 25 percent from 2024 and less than half of 794,000 in 2023.

The administration ordered increased vetting of H-1B applicants.

Earlier this month DHS added fees of up to $4,500 on some extensions or transfers.

Disputed facts

Bloomberg Law says the new fee would apply to individuals hired within the United States.

Shared opinions

Supporters say U.S. firms need the program to fill shortages in engineering and software.

Trump says companies replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor.

Disputed opinions

None yet.

Reuters

Trump administration moves to impose more than $100,000 fee for H-1B worker visas

Daniel Wiessner

24 Aug 2026

Facts

No unique facts.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

Al Jazeera

Trump administration seeks to formalise H-1B fee of more than $100,000

Reuters

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Court filings say the fee increase discouraged H-1B requests.

Opinion

Al Jazeera described the fee as controversial.

CNN

Trump administration proposes $103,000 fee for H-1B visas

Piper Hudspeth Blackburn

24 Aug 2026

Facts

It said the fee would encourage companies to hire American workers and pay them more.

Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent.

Sorokin is an Obama appointee.

Opinion

Vance said if an American corporation needs workers it should hire and train Americans.

Economists have argued the program helps U.S. companies stay competitive and create jobs.

The administration says the program is overused and keeps companies from hiring Americans.

Fox News

Trump administration proposes six-figure price tag for new H-1B visas

24 Aug 2026

Facts

No unique facts.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

The Hill

Trump administration lays out new $103K fee proposal for H-1B visas

Mario Trujillo

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Bier said the first fee led to a nearly 90 percent drop in filings and a $28 million revenue loss.

"The administration claims the new fee will be a 'cost recovery mechanism,' even though the first fee led to a nearly 90 percent reduction in filings and a $28 million loss in revenue. The government itself told the court that the $100,000 fee was 'arguably prohibitive' and 'does not raise revenue,'" David Bier of the Cato Institute said in a statement sent to The Hill.

attribution · David Bier

Bier said the government told the court the $100,000 fee was arguably prohibitive and does not raise revenue.

"The administration claims the new fee will be a 'cost recovery mechanism,' even though the first fee led to a nearly 90 percent reduction in filings and a $28 million loss in revenue. The government itself told the court that the $100,000 fee was 'arguably prohibitive' and 'does not raise revenue,'" David Bier of the Cato Institute said in a statement sent to The Hill.

attribution · David Bier

Bier said immigration fees may only recover adjudication and naturalization costs.

"Even if it did raise revenue, that would not make it legal because immigration fees can only be imposed to recover the costs of adjudication and naturalization services. And because this is a filing fee, employers would have to pay it with no guarantee that USCIS will approve the petition. Almost no one will risk more than $100,000 with no guarantee of approval," Bier added.

attribution · David Bier

Bier said employers would have to pay the filing fee with no guarantee USCIS will approve the petition.

"Even if it did raise revenue, that would not make it legal because immigration fees can only be imposed to recover the costs of adjudication and naturalization services. And because this is a filing fee, employers would have to pay it with no guarantee that USCIS will approve the petition. Almost no one will risk more than $100,000 with no guarantee of approval," Bier added.

attribution · David Bier

6,800 of the 65,000 regular cap visas are set aside for Chilean and Singaporean nationals.

Computer-related jobs make up nearly two-thirds of H-1B approvals, the Bipartisan Policy Center said.

Opinion

Bier said almost no one will risk more than $100,000 with no guarantee of approval.

"Even if it did raise revenue, that would not make it legal because immigration fees can only be imposed to recover the costs of adjudication and naturalization services. And because this is a filing fee, employers would have to pay it with no guarantee that USCIS will approve the petition. Almost no one will risk more than $100,000 with no guarantee of approval," Bier added.

attribution · David Bier

Newsweek

H-1B Visa Update: Trump Administration Proposes $103,265 Fee

Billal Rahman and Dan Gooding

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Klein said DHS divided about $8.8 billion in broader immigration-system costs by the 85,000 cap.

Klein said DHS did not set the fee by calculating H-1B processing cost.

DHS said the new fee relies on different legal authority.

The administration has proposed eliminating the grace period for laid-off H-1B workers.

The proposed fee builds on a broader Trump administration overhaul of the H-1B program.

DHS recently expanded a $4,000 biometric and security fee to some large-employer H-1B extensions.

The administration is also pursuing other increases in immigration-related fees.

ICE would receive about $1.05 billion.

Labor would receive about $1.21 billion.

State would receive about $484 million.

CBP would receive roughly $76 million.

Opinion

The proposal is likely to intensify a Republican divide over high-skilled immigration.

Those critics say the program suppresses wages and reduces jobs for American graduates.

Klein said H-1B employers would be made to finance immigration functions unrelated to their petitions.

"That concerns me. We are talking about making employers seeking congressionally authorized H-1B workers responsible for financing a much broader portion of the federal immigration system, including functions that have little to do with adjudicating their petitions."

attribution · Adam Klein

Bloomberg

New $103,000 H-1B Fee Planned for Visa Workers Already in US

Andrew Kreighbaum

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Because it relied on entry authority, the proclamation did not cover people already in the country who obtained H-1B status.

The prior overseas fee stunned employers and disrupted hiring plans.

The First Circuit last month denied an emergency bid to block the ruling.

DHS projects the fee would generate $8.8 billion a year.

Demand has historically far exceeded limited availability.

DHS said it considered raising all immigration fees but decided that would burden non-employment cases.

Opinion

Chamber official Neil Bradley said the proposal will make the program cost-prohibitive for more employers, especially startups and smaller firms.

The new fee proposal "will make it cost-prohibitive for even more U.S. employers—especially the thousands of start-ups and small and midsize businesses who rely on H-1Bs—to utilize the program," Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the Chamber, said in a statement.

attribution · Neil Bradley

Bradley said the program helps companies expand, innovate, and create jobs.