The $100,000 H-1B Fee: What Changed, Who Pays, and What's Still in Court
"The fee is a one-time payment on new H-1B petitions, not an annual tax on the visa itself - but at $100,000, it reshapes the hiring math for a huge share of employers who use the program."
What the Proclamation Did
On September 19, 2025, the President signed a proclamation requiring a $100,000 payment to accompany new H-1B petitions, effective September 21, 2025. The proclamation also directed the Department of Labor to raise prevailing wage levels used to set H-1B salary floors, compounding the cost increase for employers beyond the flat fee itself.
Who Actually Pays It
The fee falls on the employer, not the worker - US law prohibits shifting mandatory H-1B costs onto the employee. It's structured as a one-time payment tied to new cap-subject petitions, not a recurring or annual charge.
Who's Exempt
| Situation | Fee Applies? |
|---|---|
| New cap-subject H-1B petition (first-time filing) | Yes |
| Renewal or extension of an existing H-1B | No |
| Change of employer while remaining in the US on H-1B status | No |
| Change of status from another visa (e.g. F-1) filed without departing the US | No |
| Existing H-1B holders traveling and re-entering on a valid visa | No |
In short: the fee is aimed squarely at new entrants to the program, not the roughly 700,000 people who already hold H-1B status or the employers renewing them.
The Legal Fight
The fee has been in and out of court since it took effect. On June 8, 2026, a federal judge vacated the $100,000 fee, ruling it an unlawfully imposed tax that exceeded the executive branch's authority. Within days, the same judge stayed his own ruling, which had the effect of reinstating USCIS's authority to keep collecting the fee. The government then formally moved, on June 18, 2026, to stay the underlying order for the duration of its appeal.
As of this writing, the fee remains in effect and USCIS continues to collect it on new petitions, despite the ruling that found it unlawful. With challenges pending in multiple circuits, most immigration attorneys expect the question to eventually reach the Supreme Court.
What It Means Right Now
- Employers filing new H-1B petitions should budget for the fee as a live cost - "it's currently under appeal" is not the same as "it isn't being charged."
- Existing H-1B holders are not affected by the fee for renewals, extensions, or employer changes made without leaving the US.
- Prospective applicants are seeing employers weigh alternatives - O-1, L-1 intracompany transfer, and remote-hire arrangements - more seriously than before the fee took effect, given the scale of the added cost per new hire.
This is an actively moving legal situation. The status above reflects where things stood as of late June 2026 - anyone directly affected should confirm the current posture with an immigration attorney or their employer's counsel rather than relying on any single point-in-time summary.
