Federal Policy

DHS Proposes $103,265 Fee for H-1B Skilled Worker Visas

The proposal restores a fee structure a federal judge invalidated in June 2026, meaning litigation risk remains a central variable in whether the policy takes effect.

The Congressional Times · August 25, 2026

The Department of Homeland Security on Monday proposed attaching a $103,265 fee to H-1B skilled worker visas, according to a report by The New York Times published August 25, 2026. The figure mirrors a $100,000 fee the Trump administration imposed on new H-1B applications in a prior regulatory action. That earlier fee was struck down by a federal judge in June 2026, and the federal government has indicated it is contesting that ruling, per the same Times report.

The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign nationals in specialty occupations, typically in technology, engineering, and medicine. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data show the program grants up to 85,000 visas annually under its standard cap, including 20,000 reserved for holders of U.S. advanced degrees. The proposed fee would be applied on top of existing statutory fees that employers are required to pay under current law.

The administration's stated rationale for the fee, as characterized in the Times report, is to overhaul the H-1B program structurally. No regulatory impact analysis figure has been publicly released as of publication, and it is unknown how many petitions would be affected per year under the new fee schedule. The full text of the proposed rule, once published in the Federal Register, would contain the agency's cost-benefit analysis and public comment period details.

The June 2026 court decision that invalidated the prior $100,000 fee is a matter of public record in federal court filings, though the specific docket number and court of jurisdiction were not specified in the available source material. That information would be contained in the Department of Justice's appellate filings. What remains unknown is the timeline for the new proposal's comment period, the projected revenue the fee would generate, and whether the administration has modified the legal basis for the fee to address the grounds cited in the June ruling.

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