Trump Administration Moves to Permanently Enforce $103,265 H-1B Visa Fee

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has introduced a proposed rule to formalize a contentious fee for H-1B work visas to the US, setting the cost at $103,265 for future applications. Published in the US Federal Register, the proposal is now undergoing a 30-day public comment period. Following this window, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could finalize and implement the policy, significantly raising expenses for sectors heavily reliant on recruiting international talent, including tech, education, and research.

Last year, Donald Trump temporarily introduced a $100,000 fee for the visa program, which subsequently faced court blocks. With that temporary proclamation set to expire in September, the new DHS proposal aims to replace it and establish the fee permanently. Earlier in June, a federal judge deemed the fee illegal and prohibited the Trump administration from collecting it. A Boston-based appeals court is currently reviewing that ruling, while a separate court examines whether a judge in Washington, DC appropriately dismissed a challenge brought against the fee by a major business group.

The H-1B program permits US employers to recruit foreign professionals trained in specialty fields, granting 65,000 standard visas annually alongside 20,000 additional visas for individuals with advanced degrees, valid for periods of three to six years. The executive order issued by Donald Trump last year dramatically escalated expenses for select H-1B visas, which historically incurred standard fees ranging from about $2,000 to $5,000.

Court filings indicate that the steep price hike has deterred applications. In a March filing, the administration noted that as of February 15, US Citizenship and Immigration Services received only 85 payments of the $100,000 fee from a total of 70 employers.

Donald Trump and other critics argue that the H-1B program faces widespread abuse by companies substituting American employees with lower-cost foreign labor. Conversely, business groups and individual companies maintain that the visa initiative is essential for filling shortages of qualified American workers for specialized positions and enabling US companies to secure top-tier talent.

In establishing the fee, Donald Trump relied on presidential powers under federal immigration law to limit the entry of specific foreign nationals deemed detrimental to US interests. The fee faces legal opposition from the US Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, and a coalition uniting employers and unions, who may amend their ongoing lawsuits once the proposed rule achieves final status.

The legal challenges contend that Donald Trump's authority to restrict entry does not supersede the statute establishing the H-1B program. Furthermore, the suing states and organizations argue that the Department of Homeland Security lacks congressional authorization to impose fees, taxes, or revenue-generating measures. The Trump administration asserts that the fee is distinct from a traditional tax and that the judiciary possesses minimal authority to question executive power regarding national entry restrictions.

Amid broader immigration enforcement efforts by Donald Trump, employers registered for approximately 344,000 H-1B visas last year, marking a decline of over 25 percent compared to 2024 and less than half of the 794,000 applications recorded in 2023, according to figures from US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additionally, the Trump administration has mandated stricter vetting for H-1B applicants and proposed a revised selection framework prioritizing higher-skilled and better-compensated workers. In a separate rule introduced earlier in August, the Department of Homeland Security instituted additional fees of up to $4,500 for applications seeking to extend H-1B stays or transfer international employees to the US.