Key Takeaways:
The Trump administration's new $103,265 H-1B fee proposal would extend beyond the blocked $100,000 executive order to cover workers already in the U.S., reshaping the cost calculus for tech employers.
DHS proposed a $103,265 fee on all cap-subject H-1B petitions Monday, extending the charge to workers already in the U.S. and beyond the $100,000 executive order a court struck down in June.
"The proposed H-1B fee is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers," Zach Kahler, spokesperson for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said.
The fee would apply to all petitions subject to the 85,000 annual statutory cap, including the 20,000 slots reserved for advanced-degree holders, while exempting universities, hospitals and research institutions. DHS calculated the charge by dividing roughly $8.78 billion in projected annual immigration-system costs across 85,000 anticipated fee-paying petitions. The agency projects about $8.8 billion in annual revenue to fund USCIS, ICE, Customs and Border Protection, immigration courts, the State Department and the Department of Labor.
The proposal arrives as Congress remains deadlocked over a DHS funding bill tied to ICE appropriations, and as tech employers — who filed roughly 344,000 H-1B registrations last year, down more than 25 percent from 2024 — face a doubling of per-worker costs that could reshape hiring plans across the sector.
The new proposal follows a June ruling by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston, who vacated the administration's $100,000 entry fee imposed by presidential proclamation, finding it constituted an unlawful tax without congressional authorization. The First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's emergency stay request on July 24, leaving the vacatur in force while the appeal proceeds.
DHS says the new fee relies on different legal authority and covers different petitions than the proclamation, which is set to expire in September. The rulemaking path — rather than executive action — allows the administration to extend the fee to individuals already in the U.S. with approved H-1B status, a population the original executive order did not reach. If the proclamation is ultimately revived by the courts, employers could face both charges simultaneously.
The proposed rule was placed on public inspection Monday and will be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, opening a 30-day comment period. The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed its review on Aug. 19, classifying the proposal as both economically significant and a major rule.
Computer-related positions account for nearly two-thirds of all H-1B approvals, concentrated in software engineering, data science and IT support, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Amazon, among the most frequent users of the program, had more than 9,300 H-1B petitions approved in fiscal year 2026, which ended June 30.
The fee represents a dramatic escalation from the roughly $2,000 to $5,000 in typical filing costs that H-1B petitions carried before the executive order. The administration estimates the plan would generate about $3 billion in annual revenue, enough to hire more than 8,400 federal employees, including additional immigration court judges.
The proposal has already dampened demand. As of Feb. 15, just 85 payments of the $100,000 fee had been received from 70 employers, according to a March court filing. Employer registrations for H-1B visas fell to about 344,000 last year, down more than 25 percent from 2024 and fewer than half of the 794,000 sought in 2023.
The fee is being challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers. Those lawsuits could be amended to target the new rule once it is finalized. The last time the administration attempted a similar charge, the $100,000 proclamation, the resulting legal fight halted collection within nine months of issuance.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
