The Trump administration just proposed a new Department of Homeland Security regulation that would slap a $103,265 fee on certain H-1B visa petitions. The proposed rule, announced on August 24, 2026, kicks off a 30-day public comment period and represents the administration’s second attempt at dramatically increasing costs for employers seeking to hire foreign workers through the popular visa program.
From proclamation to courtroom to rulemaking
President Trump signed a proclamation on September 19, 2025, imposing a flat $100,000 fee on foreign workers seeking H-1B visas. That fee went live just two days later, on September 21, 2025.
In June 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts vacated the fee entirely. The court’s reasoning was straightforward: the $100,000 charge amounted to an unauthorized tax imposed by the executive branch without the congressional approval the Constitution requires. The administration appealed, but also pursued the regulatory route, proposing a formal rule with a fee set at $103,265.
Prior to these moves, H-1B application fees generally ran in the thousands of dollars. The jump to six figures represents an increase of roughly 20 to 50 times previous costs, depending on the specific petition type and employer size.
