Trump persists in pushing fee of over $100,000 for H-1B visas
A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked a similar plan in June
The Trump administration is set to propose a new, significantly high fee of over $100,000 for H-1B visas, following a court's rejection of a similar proposal in June. The proposed fee, which stands at $103,265, would be applied to H-1B visa petitions subject to an annual cap. This program, established by Congress, currently issues up to 65,000 visas annually for foreign professionals and 20,000 for workers with a U.S. master's degree.
The new fee would be additional to existing charges. H-1B visas have been a focal point of the Trump administration since he returned to office in January 2025, due to its alleged "deliberate exploitation to replace, rather than supplement" the country's skilled workforce. This led to a $100,000 fee being imposed last September, which was blocked by a court in June.
The administration now argues that the proposed higher fee would help recover costs related to administering the immigration system, including those of DHS, DOJ, DOS, and DOL. However, the new proposal does not apply to H-1B petitions from certain exempt employers, such as nonprofit research organizations.
Written by urgent.news from El Pais English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
