The proposed charge would be paid on top of existing filing costs and could reshape hiring calculations for companies that rely on the annual H-1B visa cap. It is a proposal, not a final rule, and important questions remain about its practical reach.
The government proposed a new six-figure fee for H-1B visas that would increase costs for certain H-1B petitions by $103,265. The Department of Homeland Security says the added charge would apply to all cap-subject H-1B petitions, including petitions eligible for the advanced-degree exemption, and would be collected when an employer files.
For H-1B applicants and employers, the proposed fee matters because it would come on top of other required payments, not replace them. DHS estimates the fee could produce about $8.8 billion a year, making it one of the most consequential proposed cost changes yet for the skilled-worker visa program.
The proposed charge is $103,265
DHS announced the proposal in an Aug. 24 release, while the related notice of proposed rulemaking was scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Aug. 25. The agency’s core proposal is straightforward: an additional $103,265 fee for H-1B petitions subject to the annual numerical cap.
That wording matters. It is not a $103,265 all-in price for an H-1B case. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the money would be due at filing in addition to all other applicable fees or payments.
The H-1B system is already built around employer-sponsored filings, government fees and, in many cases, legal expenses. A new six-figure federal charge would therefore land primarily as a hiring cost for the sponsoring employer, though its effects could reach workers whose job opportunities depend on an employer being willing to file.
Cap cases are the central target
The proposal is aimed at H-1B petitions subject to the annual cap, rather than every petition filed under the H-1B category. Congress limits the regular annual supply to 65,000 visas or grants of status, with another 20,000 available for people who earned a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education.
DHS says the proposed fee would also cover petitions eligible for that advanced-degree exemption. In other words, an employer sponsoring a candidate through the 20,000 advanced-degree allocation would not avoid the proposed charge simply because that candidate holds a qualifying U.S. graduate degree.
The agency says some cap-exempt filings would not be covered. Its release specifically identifies petitions from certain nonprofit research organizations, governmental research organizations and institutions of higher education as outside the additional-fee requirement.
That distinction could create a much sharper divide between employers. Universities, qualifying research groups and some affiliated organizations may retain access to a pathway not available to many private-sector businesses competing for workers through the annual lottery.
DHS says taxpayers now bear costs
The administration’s stated rationale is cost recovery. DHS says the fee is intended to recover part of the government’s cost of administering lawful immigration programs that would otherwise be funded by taxpayers.
The agency lists a broad set of activities behind that calculation: immigration-benefit adjudications, fraud detection, national-security vetting, systems modernization, records and fee collection, immigration court operations, consular visa processing, labor-standards enforcement and coordination across agencies.
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said in the agency announcement that the proposal is designed to recover costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet and support lawful immigration programs. DHS projects roughly $8.8 billion in annual revenue based on an estimated 85,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions each year.
Supporters of a user-pays approach may see the proposal as a way to shift expenses away from the general public and toward businesses that benefit from the program. Critics are likely to argue that a fee at this level functions less like routine cost recovery and more like a steep barrier to hiring foreign talent.
The real impact could vary widely
A large multinational company may view a six-figure payment as a serious but manageable expense for a highly specialized role. A startup, regional engineering firm, hospital-related employer or small technology company could see the same cost as enough to abandon a planned hire.
The effect also depends on the job. Employers often use H-1B sponsorship for software developers, engineers, researchers, data specialists, physicians and other workers in specialty occupations. A proposed charge of more than $100,000 can be especially difficult to absorb for entry-level or midcareer positions where the salary is far below that amount.
There is a competing policy argument. Critics of the H-1B program have long contended that it can be used in ways that undercut U.S. workers or enable outsourcing models. A higher cost could discourage employers from relying on the visa route when they could recruit domestically, raise wages or train workers already in the United States.
Business groups and immigration advocates, by contrast, may argue that a blanket charge does not distinguish between companies trying to fill genuine skills gaps and firms using the program more aggressively. They may also warn that the expense could make the United States less attractive to sought-after technical and research talent.
An earlier payment complicates the picture
The Federal Register notice identifies the proposed fee as separate from a $100,000 payment connected to Presidential Proclamation 10973, issued in September 2025. The notice says the two payments rest on different authority.
That does not mean every case would automatically face both amounts. The applicability of each charge depends on the governing rules and the details of a particular petition. Still, the distinction is crucial because it means the new $103,265 proposal should not be understood as replacing the earlier $100,000 requirement.
For employers and prospective workers, the practical question is not merely whether an H-1B filing is possible. It is what category the petition falls into, which exceptions apply, and which payments may be triggered at the time of filing or under separate entry restrictions.
The available government release does not resolve every operational question, including how the agency would handle edge cases, affiliated institutions or changes in an employer’s status. Those details will matter as stakeholders examine the rulemaking text.
The fee is not final yet
This is a proposed rule, not an immediate final fee increase. The notice of proposed rulemaking begins the formal regulatory process, giving employers, workers, schools, research institutions, immigration lawyers and advocacy groups a chance to scrutinize the agency’s legal authority, cost estimates and projected consequences.
Public comments and a subsequent final rule could shape the outcome. DHS could retain the proposal, revise the amount or scope, create additional exemptions, adjust implementation timing or decide against finalizing it.
Until then, the clearest takeaway is that DHS is proposing to make cap-subject H-1B sponsorship dramatically more expensive: $103,265 on top of other applicable charges. Whether that becomes policy will determine whether the H-1B cap remains a viable hiring route for employers without the resources to treat a visa filing as a six-figure investment.
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