The proposed charge would dramatically raise the upfront cost of sponsoring many H-1B workers. It is not a final rule, but it could reshape hiring decisions across technology, health care and other sectors that rely on the visa program.
The Trump administration, through the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, proposed on August 24, 2026, a $103,265 fee for H-1B visas covered by the annual cap. The fee would apply to H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced-degree exemption, and employers would pay it when filing a petition.
The proposed charge would be added to all other applicable fees, not replace them. That distinction matters because the proposal would sharply increase the upfront price of sponsoring a worker through one of the country’s most closely watched employment-visa programs.
A proposed charge, not final policy
DHS has described the $103,265 payment as an additional fee for cap-subject H-1B petitions. The agency published a notice of proposed rulemaking, meaning the policy has entered the federal rulemaking process but is not automatically in effect.
That status is crucial for employers, workers and schools trying to plan ahead. A proposal can be revised, delayed, challenged or withdrawn before a final regulation takes effect. The available DHS announcement does not establish a final implementation date.
The agency’s announcement frames the proposal as part of its effort to recover costs associated with administering the lawful immigration system. USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said the fee is intended to shift costs that otherwise would be paid by taxpayers.
Who the fee would cover
The proposal is aimed at petitions subject to the H-1B annual cap. Under the current structure described by DHS, the regular cap is limited to 65,000 visas or grants of status each year, with another 20,000 available for people who earned a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution.
Those advanced-degree cases would not escape the new charge simply because they qualify for the additional 20,000 slots. DHS specifically says the proposed fee would apply to cap-subject petitions that are eligible for the advanced-degree exemption.
In practice, the petitioner is generally the employer or organization seeking permission to hire the worker, rather than the individual worker filing alone. Still, the financial effect could reach workers indirectly if employers narrow the jobs, salaries or candidates they are willing to sponsor.
Who appears to be exempt
DHS says the additional fee would not apply to H-1B petitions that are not subject to the cap. The agency identified certain nonprofit research organizations, governmental research organizations and institutions of higher education as examples of employers that can file cap-exempt petitions.
That carveout creates a sharp dividing line. A university or qualifying research institution may not face this specific proposed fee for a cap-exempt case, while a private-sector employer filing through the annual lottery system could.
Not every employer connected to education, research or a nonprofit mission is necessarily exempt. H-1B eligibility can turn on the organization’s status and the details of the job and filing, so the announcement should not be read as a blanket exemption for every nonprofit employer.
The administration’s revenue case
DHS estimates the proposed fee would generate about $8.8 billion a year, based on a projected annual volume of 85,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions. The agency says the money would recover a portion of federal costs tied to the broader lawful immigration system.
The list of costs cited by DHS is wide-ranging: immigration-benefit adjudications, fraud detection, national-security vetting, systems modernization, records and fee collection, immigration court operations, consular processing, labor-standards enforcement and coordination among federal agencies.
Supporters of a higher fee may view that approach as a user-pays model, arguing that employers benefiting from access to high-skilled foreign workers should bear more of the public administrative expense. It also aligns with a broader political argument that immigration programs should not shift operating costs to taxpayers.
Critics are likely to see a fee of this size as more than cost recovery. They may argue it functions as a barrier to hiring, especially for smaller employers, startups and firms that cannot spread a six-figure filing cost across large recruitment budgets.
A new calculation for employers
The H-1B program is often associated with technology companies, but its reach extends beyond Silicon Valley. Employers in engineering, finance, health care, education and other specialized fields use the program when they seek workers for jobs that typically require specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
A $103,265 payment due at filing would force organizations to make decisions earlier and with more certainty. A company considering several candidates could decide to sponsor fewer people, reserve petitions for the hardest-to-fill roles or favor applicants who already have work authorization.
There is another tension in the proposal. The H-1B cap is limited, and demand has historically made access uncertain. A very high filing charge could make employers more selective before entering the process, but it could also raise questions about whether the program becomes available primarily to employers with the deepest resources.
DHS has not said in its announcement how employers might alter hiring behavior if the fee is finalized. Nor does the announcement resolve how the proposal could affect job mobility, wages or demand for cap-subject petitions.
What to watch before it advances
The immediate takeaway is that the $103,265 figure is a proposed additional filing fee, not a payment that every current H-1B holder owes. It is directed at covered cap-subject petitions and would sit on top of other applicable charges.
The next major question is what happens in the rulemaking record. Public comments, the final regulatory text and any subsequent legal challenges could determine whether the proposal changes and when it could be enforced.
For employers planning future H-1B filings, the proposal introduces an unusually large potential cost into workforce planning. For prospective H-1B workers, it raises a different concern: whether employers will still view sponsorship as a realistic option when the price of filing rises by more than $100,000.
For now, DHS’s position is clear: the fee is meant to finance government immigration-system costs. The unresolved policy debate is whether that financing model properly assigns those costs or places too heavy a burden on the employers and workers the H-1B program is designed to connect.
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