The Trump administration has proposed a $103,265 fee for new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. President Donald Trump first introduced the fee last year through a temporary order, and the administration now wants to keep it in place through a new regulation.
The United States (US) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the proposed regulation online in the Federal Register on Monday. It will be formally published on Tuesday and will open a 30-day period for public comments. The administration could finalise the rule by the end of the year.
Trump’s order introducing the fee expires in September, one year after it was issued. However, the order directed DHS to introduce regulations that would make the fee permanent.
A federal judge ruled in June that the fee was illegal and blocked the Trump administration from collecting it. A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing the decision, while another court is considering whether a Washington, DC, judge properly rejected a challenge brought by a major business group.
The proposed fee would sharply increase the cost of obtaining an H-1B visa. Such visas had typically involved fees of about $2,000 to $5,000, depending on various factors.
The H-1B programme allows US employers to hire foreign workers trained in specialty fields. The programme provides 65,000 visas each year, along with another 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees. The visas can cover employment periods of three to six years.
Trump and other critics of the H-1B programme argue that companies abuse the system by replacing American workers with cheaper foreign labour.
Business groups and individual companies have argued that the programme is needed because some US jobs lack qualified American workers and because companies need to recruit skilled workers.
About 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee for a total of 85 visa applications by late February, according to court filings.
Trump used his powers under federal immigration law when he introduced the fee. His administration argued that the law allows the president to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals whose presence could be detrimental to US interests.
The US Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers have challenged the fee in court.
The lawsuits argue that Trump’s authority to restrict entry does not allow him to override the law that established the H-1B programme. The groups also argue that DHS cannot impose fees, taxes or other measures to generate revenue for the US without approval from Congress.
The Trump administration has argued that the fee is not a traditional tax and that courts have limited power to question the president’s authority to restrict entry.
Employers registered for about 344,000 H-1B visas last year, according to data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The figure was more than 25 percent lower than in 2024 and less than half of the 794,000 visas sought in 2023.
The administration has also ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new visa selection process that would favour higher-skilled and better-paid workers.
Earlier in August, DHS introduced separate fees of up to $4,500 for applications to extend the stay of H-1B workers or transfer employees based in other countries to the US.
