US government proposes new H-1B rule: each lottery application may incur an additional fee of $103,265
The US Department of Homeland Security and Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday announced a proposed rule to charge a fee of $103,265 for each H-1B visa application subject to the cap. This fee is independent of the $100,000 fee announced by the Trump administration last year, which has been halted by a federal judge. The new fee aims to provide dedicated revenue for the administrative costs of the legal immigration system. The public can submit comments within 30 days after the rule is officially published, and legal challenges are expected after the rule is finalized.
Key Takeaways
- Entities filing cap-subject H-1B visa applications would pay a $103,265 fee per application under a proposed rule announced Monday by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- The proposal is separate from the $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas announced by President Donald Trump last year, and DHS said it is intended to "provide dedicated revenue for the costs of administering the legal immigration system." Employers already affected by last year's fee, which has been paused by a federal judge, would pay both fees where applicable.
- Interested parties will have 30 days to submit public comments once the rule is formally published, which is scheduled for Aug. 25. Caroline Tang, a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins, said employers will likely face legal challenges once the rule is finalized.
Deep Dive
The news marks the latest move by the Trump administration to reshape the H-1B visa program. The president claimed in a proclamation last year that the program has been "exploited to displace, rather than supplement, American workers with low-paid, low-skilled foreign labor." Those concerns gave rise to the original $100,000 fee, which USCIS later clarified would apply only to certain new applications filed on or after Sept. 21, 2025.
Trump's proclamation drew lawsuits from several parties, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which sued DHS in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In January, a judge on that court ruled in favor of the government, finding that Trump had not exceeded his authority in issuing the fee proclamation.
But months later, a federal judge in Massachusetts vacated the proclamation in a separate lawsuit and declared it unlawful. Last month, the First Circuit Court of Appeals declined to stay that judge's order.
Tang noted that the timeline for interested parties to submit comments on the latest fee proposal is tight. She added that litigation against the rule could argue that the proposed fee amount itself is "arbitrary and capricious." USCIS said it calculated the $103,265 figure based in part on an assessment of the total interagency cost of maintaining the legal immigration system.
The new fee would not apply to petitions not subject to the agency's annual cap, including categories such as those filed by U.S. institutions of higher education and similar nonprofit entities.
The program has also become more costly for employers in other ways. In March, the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule to raise prevailing wage rates for H-1B visa holders. Earlier, DHS reinstated a wage-based selection process for H-1B visas, which the agency will implement in a tiered format that prioritizes applications with higher salaries.
More cost increases may be on the way, Tang said. She noted that USCIS is reportedly considering charging fees for international students participating in Optional Practical Training.
Separately, DHS said earlier this month it would propose a rule eliminating the current 60-day grace period for H-1B visa holders when employment ends early.
Tang said the series of planned changes could have a "chilling effect" on employers and may prompt them to reconsider talent succession plans, as cap-subject H-1B visa holders are often early in their careers.