$100K H-1B Fee: What Changed and What It Means for 2026

The proclamation signed on September 19, 2025 — titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers — imposed a $100,000 fee on every new H-1B petition and structurally altered the calculus for U.S. employers that rely on foreign talent. Effective at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025, the measure continues to generate operational questions, litigation, and strategy overhauls among companies, universities, and professionals evaluating a move to the United States.

The proclamation’s text is brief, but its regulatory impact is sweeping. The combination of a six-figure per-petition charge and a simultaneous directive to the Department of Labor to review prevailing wage levels is shifting the H-1B from a broad-access tool into one increasingly concentrated among large employers and senior-level positions.

What the Proclamation Requires

The rule requires every new H-1B petition filed on or after September 21, 2025 to include a $100,000 payment to be processed. Per subsequent government clarifications, the fee is a one-time charge per petition — not an annual one. Exceptions and payment procedures were detailed in a USCIS memorandum issued September 20, 2025.

Who It Applies To

• New petitions, including cap-subject ones (FY2026 lottery and beyond)
• New cap-exempt petitions — such as those from universities and research organizations — subject to additional guidance

Who It Does Not Apply To

• Current H-1B holders not filing a new petition
• H-1B status extensions
• Employer transfers (amend/transfer petitions), under current agency interpretation

The proclamation provides for case-by-case national interest waivers, but the formal request process and adjudication criteria are still being developed by the agency. Employers should assume the fee is owed in the absence of specific guidance to the contrary.

How Payment Works

As implementation has proceeded, several practical questions remain open: payment transmission method, receiving account, documentation at the time of filing, and the mechanics of any potential refund in cases of denial or withdrawal. Companies should plan on the assumption that the fee is non-refundable until official guidance states otherwise and budget accordingly.

Under U.S. labor regulations, costs associated with the H-1B process cannot be passed on to the worker. In practice, that means the full $100,000 burden falls on the sponsoring employer.

Implications for the Lottery

The FY2026 lottery recorded approximately 343,981 eligible registrations — a sharp drop from the 758,994 in FY2024 that prompted the introduction of the beneficiary-centric process to combat fraud. The new fee applies to the petition stage, not the registration stage, but it is expected to discourage employers from converting selections into full filings.

The anticipated effect is an early economic filter: speculative registrations should decline, and the petitions that move forward will tend to be for strategic roles with higher salaries. Conservative projections point to a further drop in full-filing volume, particularly from small and mid-sized companies, startups, and staffing firms.

Impact by Employer Type

Large Corporations

Technology, biotech, semiconductor, and financial services companies with strong balance sheets can absorb the fee as a cost of acquiring critical talent. Demand for AI specialists, chip designers, cybersecurity professionals, and data scientists is not retreating, and the $100,000 becomes part of the total compensation budget.

Small and Mid-Sized Businesses, Startups, and Nonprofits

For employers with leaner payrolls, the landscape is more hostile. The fee turns H-1B sponsorship into a first-order financial decision, limited to positions with a clear return on investment. Universities and nonprofit research organizations — historically cap-exempt and heavily dependent on foreign talent in their hiring cycles — are awaiting specific guidance and may need to redesign their hiring workflows.

International Students

Higher sponsorship costs shrink the pool of employers willing to hire early-career professionals who need to transition from F-1/OPT to H-1B. The secondary effect is strategic: U.S. graduate programs lose some of their appeal when the path to employment is restricted to a handful of employers. Countries such as Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia stand to benefit from this talent redirection.

Alternatives Gaining Relevance

Companies and professionals are reassessing visa categories that fall outside the H-1B lottery and the new fee.

L-1: Intracompany Transfer

Allows the transfer of managers, executives (L-1A), or employees with specialized knowledge (L-1B) from a foreign subsidiary to a U.S. operation. Requires a qualifying corporate relationship and at least one year of employment abroad in the three years preceding filing. There is no cap or lottery, and the L-1A offers a natural path to an EB-1C Green Card.

O-1: Extraordinary Ability

Reserved for individuals with extraordinary ability in science, arts, education, business, or athletics. It carries a high evidentiary standard and requires consistent documentation of awards, publications, media coverage, peer review, and original contributions. There is no cap or lottery. For senior profiles and candidates with a public track record, the O-1 is now the primary operational substitute for the H-1B.

Other Pathways

• E-2 Treaty Investor for nationals of treaty countries who make a substantial investment in a U.S. business
• EB-2 NIW as a direct path to a Green Card without employer sponsorship, based on national interest
• TN for Canadian and Mexican professionals in occupations listed under the USMCA

What to Watch in 2026

The H-1B program remains in flux. The proclamation faces legal challenges in multiple courts, and there is potential for partial injunctions, temporary suspensions, or adjustments through permanent rulemaking. In parallel, the DOL is advancing its review of prevailing wage levels, which could make employing H-1B workers even more expensive even where the fee does not apply.

Companies that rely on the program should pursue three simultaneous tracks: continuous monitoring of USCIS guidance and court decisions, financial planning that treats the fee as the baseline scenario, and visa portfolio diversification to reduce dependence on a single category. For individual professionals, the practical recommendation is to map eligibility across more than one pathway before assuming the H-1B will be their entry point.

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

Leading journalism and editorial content at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps make immigration topics clear, trustworthy, and easy to understand. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.