The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has proposed a new $103,265 fee for employers filing H-1B petitions subject to the annual statutory cap, including petitions eligible for the 20,000 advanced-degree exemption.
If approved, the new rule proposed on Monday would apply to workers seeking to gain employment in the U.S. under the annual statutory cap. The proposed fee aims to cover the federal government’s costs of administering the lawful immigration system, including activities carried out by the DHS and the departments of Justice, State, and Labor.
The public will have 30 days to submit comments after the proposal is published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.
Immigration Crackdown Intensifies
This development follows a reported Trump administration consideration of charging international students $100,000 to work in the U.S. after graduating from American universities. The proposed fee would target the OPT program, which lets international graduates work in the U.S. for 1–3 years after completing their studies. About 419,000 foreign graduates participated in the program in 2024. However, the proposal is not yet finalized.
