Trump administration proposes permanent $103,265 H-1B fee

WASHINGTON, DC: On Monday, the Trump administration moved to make permanent a fee of more than $100,000 on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, proposing a regulation to preserve a charge that a federal court has blocked. The Department of Homeland Security's proposed rule, posted in the Federal Register, would set the fee at $103,265. President Donald Trump first imposed the fee temporarily last year, dramatically increasing the cost of visas heavily used in the technology, education and research sectors. A federal judge ruled in June that the fee was unlawful and barred the administration from collecting it. A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing that decision, while another court is considering whether a judge properly rejected a separate challenge brought by a major business group. Trump's temporary fee increase expires in September, one year after it was imposed. The new regulation could be finalized by the end of the year. The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers trained in specialty fields. It provides 65,000 visas annually, plus another 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees. The visas are approved for three to six years. Before Trump's order, H-1B visas typically carried fees ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. The proposed $103,265 fee would not apply to visas granted to foreign nationals already in the United States on student visas, who account for a large share of new H-1B recipients, or to renewals of existing visas. Trump and other critics of the H-1B system say companies abuse the program to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. Business groups and individual companies have argued that the visas are necessary to address shortages of qualified U.S. workers in some fields and to recruit top talent. About 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee on 85 visa applications as of late February, according to court filings. In imposing the fee, Trump invoked presidential authority under immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals deemed detrimental to U.S. interests. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers are challenging the fee. Those lawsuits could be amended to challenge the proposed regulation once it is finalized. The lawsuits argue that the president's authority to restrict entry does not allow him to override the law establishing the H-1B program. They also contend that the Department of Homeland Security cannot impose fees, taxes or other revenue-generating measures without congressional approval. The Trump administration has maintained that the charge is not a traditional tax and that courts have limited authority to review the president's power to restrict entry. Employers registered for about 344,000 H-1B visas last year, down more than 25% from 2024 and less than half the 794,000 sought in 2023, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. The administration has also ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a selection process favoring higher-skilled and better-paid workers. Earlier this month, DHS separately introduced fees of up to $4,500 for applications to extend H-1B stays or transfer employees based abroad to the United States.