The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on August 24, 2026, proposed a $103,265 fee on each H-1B visa petition subject to the statutory annual cap of 85,000 visas. This fee would apply to all cap-subject petitions, including applications for workers already in the United States seeking change of status, expanding beyond prior proposals that targeted only overseas applicants [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
DHS estimates the fee would generate about $8.8 billion in annual revenue, based on 85,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions each year. The department said the fee revenue is intended to help recover federal costs related to administering and enforcing immigration programs, including USCIS and ICE activities, costs which would otherwise be borne by taxpayers [1, 2, 8, 5, 7]. USCIS spokesperson Zack Haller said the proposed fee aims to cover "the costs of processing, enforcement, and supporting legal immigration programs" [2].
The proposal exempts some nonprofit entities such as universities, hospitals and government research organizations that are not subject to the annual cap. DHS considered raising fees on all immigration applications but chose to limit the fee to employment-based petitions to avoid burdening other visa categories [1, 3, 8, 4].
This new proposal replaces a previous 2025 Trump administration proclamation that imposed a $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B visa holders applying from outside the US. That fee was struck down by federal courts as illegal in June 2026 and is set to expire in September 2026 [1, 2, 9, 8, 4, 5, 6, 10, 7].
Critics including business groups and legal experts cautioned that the proposed fee is legally questionable and could harm US businesses and disrupt the supply of global talent. Doug Rand, a former USCIS senior official, warned it would "devastate the pipeline for global talent to the United States." Neil Bradley, chief policy officer for the Chamber of Commerce, said the fee would put "thousands of American employers, especially startups and small businesses that rely on H-1B workers, out of reach" [2].
If finalized, the fee would significantly raise costs for tech and financial companies that depend heavily on H-1B workers, especially recent international graduates already studying in the US [2, 4, 7]. The $103,265 fee must be paid before DHS can decide on H-1B petition approval [4, 7].
The H-1B visa program caps at 85,000 visas each fiscal year, including 20,000 reserved for workers with advanced US degrees [1, 2, 3, 10, 7]. The agency has opened a 30-day public comment period on the proposal that ends in late September 2026 before any final rule is issued [1, 8, 4, 5, 7].
