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Perplexity ChatGPT Claude Gemini

H-1B Visa Fee Rises Again: Trump Administration Moves to Make $103,265 Charge Permanent

Perplexity ChatGPT Claude Gemini
H-1B Visa Fee Rises Again: Trump Administration Moves to Make $103,265 Charge Permanent

The Trump administration has taken its second run at imposing a new six-figure fee on the H-1B skilled-worker visa program. A proposed regulation released on Monday, August 24, aims to codify a new $103,265 charge on new H-1B petitions. This would be the second attempt of the administration to impose an H-1B fee, after a federal court struck down its first attempt in June. The move, reported by Reuters and confirmed across multiple outlets, marks the latest escalation in an already contentious fight over the future cost of hiring foreign skilled workers in the United States.

As always, our EB-1A consultants have clarified how this proposed policy could unfold and what is at stake in the bigger picture for the future of foreign hiring in the US.

From proclamation to regulation

The fee's roots go back to September 2025, when President Trump signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 charge on new H-1B visa applications, and articulated it as a way to curb what he called "abuse" of the program. "We are going to be able to keep people in our country that are going to be very productive people, and in many cases these companies are going to pay a lot of money for that, and they're very happy about it," Trump said at the time. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson later clarified that the fee applied only to future applicants outside the U.S. entering the 2026 lottery, not to anyone who already held a visa or had participated in the 2025 lottery.

That proclamation-based fee didn't survive its first legal test. A federal judge, Judge Sorokin, ruled in June 2026 that the charge was illegal. The judge vacated it as both an unconstitutional tax and a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. A Boston-based federal appeals court declined to stay that ruling on July 24, and the government's merits appeal remains pending, with briefing expected to wrap up in October. Separately, a Washington, D.C. court is weighing whether a judge there properly rejected a related challenge brought by a major business group. With the original proclamation set to expire in September (one year after it was issued), the administration has now pivoted to a different legal vehicle entirely: a formal regulation issued by the Department of Homeland Security rather than a presidential proclamation.

What the new rule actually does

The newly proposed rule has been posted for public inspection on August 24, and scheduled for formal Federal Register publication on August 25. It would set the fee at exactly $103,265 and apply it to essentially all H-1B petitions subject to the annual statutory cap. The affected, this time, would include those who are filed for workers with master's degrees, a group the original proclamation didn't clearly reach in the same way. Unlike the earlier proclamation, which was aimed primarily at new applicants entering from outside the country, the regulation would apply the charge more broadly, in an attempt to reach individuals already inside the United States as well.

According to several sources (provided in the 'Sources & further readings' section), DHS acknowledges the new figure is "close to" the amount struck down in June, but argues the fee is now grounded in a cost-recovery rationale rather than presidential proclamation authority. As per DHS's own reasoning, current immigration fees don't generate enough revenue to fully fund the cost of administering the legal immigration system. Hence, instead of raising fees across all immigration benefit categories, the agency chose to concentrate that funding gap specifically on H-1B cap-subject employers. Revenue from the fee, according to the proposed rule, would help fund the broader legal immigration system, including federal immigration courts and USCIS operations. Most notably, the rule specifies that employers already required to pay under the original proclamation, if it is still in effect when they file, would owe both amounts rather than one superseding the other!

Once formally published, the rule triggers a 30-day public comment period, expected to run through roughly September 24, before DHS decides whether to finalize it.

Why the administration is trying a different legal route

The distinction between a presidential proclamation and a formal agency regulation matters enormously here. The administration's new approach appears to be an attempt to achieve through the Immigration and Nationality Act's fee-setting authority, otherwise known as INA Section 286(m), what it couldn't accomplish through the president's entry-restriction powers under INA Section 212(f). Plaintiffs in the ongoing litigation are expected to argue that DHS's stated cost-recovery justification is a post hoc rationale for a number that was effectively decided first and justified second. This argument could likely draw on the framework the Supreme Court laid out in Department of Commerce v. New York, a case concerning whether an agency's stated reasoning for a decision actually matches the record behind it.

A legal challenge to the new rule cannot be filed until it becomes final agency action. In other words, the opponents will need to wait for DHS to actually finalize the regulation before heading back to court, though our EB-1A attorney friends anticipate litigation could follow within days of that happening.

The numbers behind the fight

The stakes in this proposed policy are considerable. Employers registered for H-1B visas were roughly 344,000 last year, according to USCIS data. The number is down more than 25 percent from 2024, and less than half of the 794,000 visas sought back in 2023. Employers sponsoring H-1B workers currently pay between $2,000 and $5,000 in standard fees, depending on company size and other factors. However, this proposal would push this fee past $100,000 per petition if finalized as written. If enacted, immigration attorneys say it would represent the single largest fee ever imposed on any immigration benefit request in U.S. regulatory history.

The proposal also doesn't stand alone. Earlier in August, DHS separately finalized a rule adding fees of up to $4,500 for applications to extend an H-1B worker's stay or to transfer employees from overseas offices into the United States. Moreover, the administration has ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants alongside a proposed new visa-selection process designed to favor higher-skilled, better-paid workers over the current random lottery system.

What comes next

For now, employers face genuine uncertainty rather than an immediate bill. The fee is not in effect, the public comment window hasn't yet opened, and even a finalized rule would almost certainly face swift legal challenges that could delay or block implementation, much as happened with the original proclamation. Still, immigration attorneys are advising companies that rely on H-1B sponsorship to begin modeling what a $103,265-per-petition cost would mean for hiring plans and budgets, given how determined the administration has shown itself to be in pursuing some version of this fee through whichever legal channel proves durable.

At GCEB1, our EB-1A experts are staying tuned to all the latest changes and transitions in the US immigration landscape. Get in touch with us for a personalized evaluation of your green card profile.

Frequently asked questions

1. How much is the newly proposed H-1B fee?

$103,265 per H-1B cap-subject petition, according to the proposed DHS regulation released August 24, 2026.

2. Is this fee currently in effect?

No. It is a proposed rule, not yet finalized. It must go through a 30-day public comment period after formal Federal Register publication before DHS can decide whether to issue it as a final rule.

3. How is this different from the $100,000 fee Trump announced in 2025?

The 2025 fee was imposed through a presidential proclamation and applied mainly to new applicants entering from outside the U.S. This new fee is being pursued through formal DHS rulemaking, applies more broadly to nearly all H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those for workers already in the U.S., and rests on a cost-recovery legal rationale rather than presidential entry-restriction authority.

4. What happened to the original $100,000 fee in court?

A federal judge ruled in June 2026 that it was illegal, vacating it as an unconstitutional tax and a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. A federal appeals court declined to pause that ruling in July, and the government's appeal remains pending.

5. Would employers have to pay both the old and new fees?

Potentially, yes. According to the proposed rule's own text, if a petitioner is subject to both a proclamation-required payment and this newly proposed fee, they would be required to pay both amounts.

6. Who is challenging this fee, and on what grounds?

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers have challenged the original fee and are expected to extend or amend those challenges to the new rule. They argue the administration lacks authority to override the H-1B statute through entry-restriction powers, and that DHS cannot impose revenue-raising fees without congressional authorization.

7. When could this rule take effect?

DHS must first complete a 30-day public comment period, review the comments, and decide whether to issue a final rule. Industry trackers estimate a final rule could be issued by the end of 2026, though no implementation date has been set.

8. What do current H-1B fees typically cost employers?

Employers sponsoring H-1B workers currently pay roughly $2,000 to $5,000 in standard filing fees, depending on company size and other factors, which is barely a fraction of the newly proposed $103,265 charge.

9. Has H-1B demand already been affected by the administration's broader immigration policies?

Yes. Employers registered for about 344,000 H-1B visas last year, down more than 25 percent from 2024 and less than half the 794,000 registrations seen in 2023, according to USCIS data.

Sources & further readings

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