Here’s what Trump is doing now.
President Donald Trump’s administration is proposing a sweeping change to the H-1B visa system that could make it dramatically more expensive for companies to bring certain foreign workers into the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security is proposing an additional $103,265 fee for every H-1B petition subject to the annual visa cap.
The six-figure charge could fundamentally change the financial calculation facing employers — particularly technology companies that have relied heavily on the H-1B program for specialized foreign workers.
And the Trump administration says the policy could provide another benefit: encouraging companies to think twice before choosing an H-1B worker when a qualified American is available.
Trump Administration Targets H-1B Visa Costs
Under the proposed DHS rule, employers filing cap-subject H-1B petitions would face the additional $103,265 charge on top of other applicable fees.
The administration says the money would help recover federal costs associated with administering America’s lawful immigration system.
Those expenses stretch across several agencies and departments involved in immigration processing, enforcement, security screening and labor oversight.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says the proposal is designed to shift those expenses toward users of the immigration system rather than leaving taxpayers responsible for covering them.
That could prove popular with Americans who believe businesses benefiting from foreign-worker programs should shoulder more of the cost.
DHS Says American Workers Could Benefit
The proposal goes beyond simply raising revenue.
DHS argues that imposing such a substantial fee could make employers less likely to hire an H-1B worker instead of a qualified American unless the company has a legitimate need for specialized skills it cannot otherwise obtain.
That puts American jobs at the center of the administration’s argument.
The H-1B program was created to allow American employers to temporarily hire foreign nationals for certain specialty occupations requiring highly specialized knowledge.
Supporters say the program helps U.S. businesses obtain talent when qualified workers are difficult to find.
Critics, however, have long questioned whether some employers have become too dependent on foreign labor rather than recruiting Americans and competing for domestic workers through better pay and benefits.
The Trump administration’s proposal could significantly change that equation.
A company considering an overseas worker would potentially have another $103,265 reason to search for an American employee first.
H-1B Fee Could Generate Billions
The numbers involved are enormous.
DHS calculated the proposed fee by taking approximately $8.78 billion in costs it wants to recover and dividing that amount by a projected 85,000 fee-paying H-1B petitions.
That produced a calculated charge of $103,264.57, which DHS rounded to $103,265.
If the government’s projections hold, the new fee could generate approximately $8.8 billion per year.
The revenue would help support immigration-related activities performed by USCIS, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Justice, the State Department and the Department of Labor.
Trump’s Previous H-1B Plan Hit a Legal Roadblock
The administration’s latest move comes after its previous attempt to impose a $100,000 H-1B payment ran into trouble in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin blocked that earlier policy, prompting the government to appeal.
The new proposal takes a different legal approach.
DHS is presenting the $103,265 charge as a fee intended to recover costs associated with providing immigration and naturalization services across the federal government.
That distinction could become crucial if opponents challenge the new policy in court.
Critics Are Already Fighting Back
The proposal is already facing opposition from advocates of a more accessible H-1B system.
David Bier of the Cato Institute questioned both the legality and practicality of imposing a fee exceeding $100,000.
One major concern is the financial risk for businesses.
Because the charge would be connected to filing a petition, an employer could face an enormous expense without having a guarantee that the worker’s petition would ultimately be approved.
Critics contend that could make the program prohibitively expensive for many employers.
For supporters of tougher H-1B rules, however, discouraging unnecessary applications could be part of the point.
Universities and Research Institutions Get Different Treatment
The proposal would apply specifically to cap-subject H-1B petitions.
That means many H-1B workers employed by universities, nonprofit research organizations and government research institutions would fall outside the new fee because their petitions are generally exempt from the annual H-1B cap.
The distinction could protect institutions that rely on foreign researchers, professors and other highly specialized employees while placing the greatest financial burden on employers competing for visas through the regular annual system.
How Many H-1B Visas Are Available?
Federal law generally allows up to 65,000 new H-1B workers under the regular annual cap.
Another 20,000 slots are available through an exemption for qualifying workers who have earned a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. college or university.
That brings the commonly cited annual cap-subject total to 85,000.
Of the regular 65,000 allocation, 6,800 visas are reserved for eligible nationals of Chile and Singapore under existing agreements.
Demand has routinely been high enough that the federal government uses a registration and selection system for prospective cap-subject applicants.
Big Tech Could Face a New Reality
The technology industry has become the face of the H-1B debate because computer-related occupations account for a large share of approved petitions.
Software developers, data specialists and other information-technology professionals are among the workers frequently associated with the program.
That has produced a long-running political argument.
Technology companies maintain that H-1B visas help them obtain highly skilled employees needed to keep American businesses competitive.
Critics counter that immigration policy should never become an easy substitute for recruiting, training and properly compensating American workers.
A fee exceeding $103,000 could force employers to put a much higher price on that decision.
An America-First Test for H-1B Visas
The debate over H-1B visas is ultimately about more than immigration.
It touches American jobs, wages, taxpayer costs, technological competitiveness and the question of whom U.S. economic policy should serve first.
The Trump administration is now making its position clear.
Companies would still have access to cap-subject H-1B workers, but obtaining one could become substantially more expensive.
DHS itself says the policy could make employers less inclined to choose an H-1B worker over a qualified American unless there is a genuine need for that foreign employee’s specialized abilities.
For Americans who have spent years watching Washington debate the impact of foreign labor on U.S. workers, that may be the most consequential part of the proposal.
But the change is not yet final.
The proposed rule is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register, after which interested parties will have an opportunity to submit public comments before DHS determines whether to move forward with a final regulation.
That means the battle over Trump’s latest H-1B overhaul is only beginning.
