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 charge for H-1B work visas to the US and cost $103,265 for these visa functions going ahead.
The proposed charge 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 might be finalised and put into follow by the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS). It could dramatically improve the price of visas which might be in excessive use in recruiting staff within the tech, training and analysis sectors.
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Final yr, Trump briefly imposed a charge of $100,000 for the visa programme, which was then blocked by courtroom rulings. The short-term proclamation is because of expire in September, and the brand new DHS proposal would change it and make the charge everlasting.
In June, a federal choose ruled the fee was illegal and barred the Trump administration from amassing it. A Boston-based appeals courtroom is reviewing that call, whereas a special courtroom considers whether or not a choose in Washington, DC correctly rejected a problem to the charge by a serious enterprise group.
The H-1B programme permits US employers to rent international staff with coaching in specialty fields and provides 65,000 visas yearly, with one other 20,000 for staff with superior levels, accepted for 3 to 6 years.
The order Trump issued final yr sharply elevated the price of acquiring some H-1B visas, which had sometimes include about $2,000 to $5,000 in charges, relying on numerous components.
The rise in charges has discouraged H-1B visa requests, based on courtroom filings. As of February 15, US Citizenship and Immigration Companies had obtained from 70 employers simply 85 funds of the $100,000 charge, the administration stated 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 corporations who change US staff with cheaper international labour.
However enterprise teams and lots of particular person corporations have stated the visa programme is required to deal with an absence of certified American staff for some jobs and to permit US companies to recruit high expertise.
In imposing the charge, 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 charge is being challenged by the US Chamber of Commerce, the most important US enterprise lobbying group, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers. These lawsuits might 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 not impose charges, taxes or different means to generate income for the US with out permission from Congress.
The Trump administration has maintained that the charge shouldn’t be 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 yr 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, based on knowledge 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 functions to increase the keep of H-1B staff or to switch workers primarily based in different nations to the US.
