The brand new proposal would cost $103,265 for H-1B visas, and makes an attempt to make everlasting a brief rule challenged by the US courts.
Printed On 24 Aug 2026
The administration of United States President Donald Trump has proposed a rule to formalise a controversial payment for H-1B work visas to the US and cost $103,265 for these visa purposes going ahead.
The proposed payment for extremely expert international staff was printed within the US Federal Register on Monday, and can now be topic to a 30-day public remark interval, after which it could possibly be finalised and put into follow by the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS). It might dramatically improve the price of visas which might be in excessive use in recruiting staff within the tech, schooling and analysis sectors.
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Final 12 months, Trump briefly imposed a payment of $100,000 for the visa programme, which was then blocked by courtroom rulings. The non permanent proclamation is because of expire in September, and the brand new DHS proposal would substitute it and make the payment everlasting.
In June, a federal decide ruled the fee was illegal and barred the Trump administration from gathering it. A Boston-based appeals courtroom is reviewing that call, whereas a special courtroom considers whether or not a decide in Washington, DC correctly rejected a problem to the payment by a significant enterprise group.
The H-1B programme permits US employers to rent international staff with coaching in specialty fields and gives 65,000 visas yearly, with one other 20,000 for staff with superior levels, permitted for 3 to 6 years.
The order Trump issued final 12 months sharply elevated the price of acquiring some H-1B visas, which had sometimes include about $2,000 to $5,000 in charges, relying on varied elements.
The rise in charges has discouraged H-1B visa requests, in line with courtroom filings. As of February 15, US Citizenship and Immigration Companies had obtained from 70 employers simply 85 funds of the $100,000 payment, the administration mentioned in a March submitting.
Debate over visa programme
Trump, a Republican, and different critics of the H-1B programme say it’s abused by many firms who substitute US staff with cheaper international labour.
However enterprise teams and lots of particular person firms have mentioned the visa programme is required to handle an absence of certified American staff for some jobs and to permit US companies to recruit high expertise.
In imposing the payment, Trump invoked the president’s energy below federal immigration legislation to limit the entry of sure international nationals who could be detrimental to US pursuits.
The payment is being challenged by the US Chamber of Commerce, the biggest US enterprise lobbying group, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers. These lawsuits could possibly be amended to problem the rule proposed this week as soon as it’s finalised.
Authorized challenges mount
The lawsuits declare that Trump’s energy to limit entry doesn’t permit him to override the legislation that created the H-1B visa programme. The states and teams that sued additionally say that DHS can’t impose charges, taxes or different means to generate income for the US with out permission from Congress.
The Trump administration has maintained that the payment just isn’t a conventional tax and that courts have little energy to query the president’s authority to limit entry into the nation.
Amid Trump’s broader immigration crackdown, employers final 12 months registered for about 344,000 H-1B visas, down greater than 25 % from 2024, and fewer than half of the 794,000 visas sought in 2023, in line with information from US Citizenship and Immigration Companies.
The Trump administration has additionally ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B candidates and proposed a brand new visa choice course of that may favour higher-skilled and better-paid staff. Earlier in August, the Division of Homeland Safety, in a separate rule, added charges of as much as $4,500 to purposes to increase the keep of H-1B staff or to switch workers based mostly in different nations to the US.
