Trump administration seeks to formalise H-1B fee of more than $100,000

In practice, the administration of United States President Donald Trump has proposed a rule to formalise a controversial fee for H-1B work visas to the US and charge $103, 265 for these visa applications going forward.

Key points

• Last year, Trump temporarily imposed a fee of $100, 000 for the visa programme.
• The fee is being challenged by the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest US business lobbying group, Democratic-led states, and a coalition ⁠of unions and employers.
• The order Trump issued last year sharply rose the cost of obtaining some H-1B visas.
• Trump, a Republican, and other critics of the H-1B programme say it is abused by plenty of businesses who replace US workers with cheaper foreign labour.
• In June, a federal judge ruled the fee was illegal and barred the Trump administration from collecting it.

After which it could be finalised and put into practice by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the proposed fee for highly skilled foreign workers was published in the US Federal Register on Monday, and will now be subject to a 30-day public comment period. It would dramatically growth the cost of visas that are in high apply in recruiting workers in the tech, education and research sectors.

Last year, Trump temporarily imposed a fee of $100, 000 for the visa programme. It was then blocked by court rulings. The temporary proclamation is due to expire in September, and the new DHS proposal would replace it and create the fee permanent.

In June, a federal judge ruled the fee was illegal and barred the Trump administration from collecting it. While a different court considers whether a judge in Washington, DC properly rejected a challenge to the fee by a major business group, a Boston-based appeals court is reviewing that decision.

Notably, the H-1B programme allows US employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty fields and offers 65, 000 visas annually, with another 20, 000 for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years.

Notably, the order Trump issued last year sharply rose the cost of obtaining some H-1B visas. It had typically come with concerning $2, 000 to $5, 000 in fees, depending on various factors.

For context, the growth in fees has discouraged H-1B visa requests, according to court filings. As of February 15, US Citizenship and Immigration Services had received from 70 employers just 85 payments of the $100, 000 fee, the administration remarked in a March filing. Debate over visa programme.

But business groups and plenty of individual businesses have noted the visa programme is needed to address a lack of qualified American workers ⁠for some jobs and to allow US businesses to recruit top talent.

In imposing the fee, Trump invoked the president's power under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals who would be detrimental to US interests.

Meanwhile, the fee is being challenged by the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest US business lobbying group, Democratic-led states, and a coalition ⁠of unions and employers. Those lawsuits could be amended to challenge the rule proposed this week once it is finalised.

In practice, the lawsuits claim that Trump's power to restrict entry does not allow him to override the law ⁠that created the H-1B visa programme. The states and groups that sued additionally say that DHS cannot impose fees, taxes or other means to generate revenue for the US without permission from Congress.

In practice, the Trump administration has maintained that the fee is not a traditional tax and that courts have little power to question the president's authority to restrict entry into the country.

Against the backdrop of Trump's broader immigration crackdown, employers last year registered for concerning 344, 000 H-1B visas, down ‌more than 25 percent from 2024, and fewer than half of the 794, 000 visas sought in 2023, according to data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

In practice, the Trump administration has additionally 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, ‌the ‌Department of Homeland Security, in a separate rule, continued fees of up to $4, 500 to applications to extend the stay of H-1B workers or to transfer employees based in other countries to the US.

In short, trump administration seeks to formalise H is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.