The Trump administration has proposed an additional $103,265 fee for all H-1B cap-subject petitions, including the advanced-degree category, in a move that could sharply increase the cost of hiring skilled foreign workers.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed an additional fee of $103,265 for every H-1B petition subject to the annual cap, adding a potentially massive new cost for companies hiring highly skilled foreign workers.
The proposed fee would be payable when the petition is filed and would come on top of all existing H-1B filing fees and other applicable payments, according to the DHS proposal published in the Federal Register.
The proposal covers both the regular H-1B cap of 65,000 visas and the additional 20,000 visas reserved for foreign workers with advanced degrees from US institutions. DHS estimates that the fee could generate around $8.8 billion annually, based on approximately 85,000 cap-subject petitions.
The proposed charge would not apply to H-1B petitions that are exempt from the annual cap, including certain petitions involving higher education institutions, nonprofit research organisations and government research organisations.
The move comes after a federal judge in June blocked the Trump administration’s earlier $100,000 H-1B fee, ruling that the administration lacked the authority to impose the charge. The new proposal is being pursued through a formal rulemaking process and is intended to establish a separate fee regime.
More from BusinessThe latest proposal is particularly significant for the technology industry, which relies heavily on the H-1B programme to recruit engineers, software developers and other specialised professionals from overseas. Indian professionals have historically accounted for a large share of H-1B beneficiaries.
The H-1B programme currently allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialised occupations, with an annual cap of 85,000 new visas. The proposed fee would represent a dramatic increase from the typical H-1B government fees of roughly $2,000 to $5,000 before the recent fee changes.
The proposal is not yet final. Companies, workers and other stakeholders will have 30 days to submit comments after its publication in the Federal Register, after which DHS can consider the feedback before deciding whether to issue a final rule.
The proposal could also face fresh legal challenges, particularly over whether DHS has the statutory authority to impose such a large revenue-generating fee without congressional approval.
