Trump administration moves to impose more than $100,000 fee for H-1B worker visas

President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday (August 24, 2026) launched a proposed regulation to codify an unprecedented payment of extra ‌than $100,000 on new H-1B visas for extremely expert international staff. Mr. Trump first ​imposed this final yr however was blocked by the courts.

The payment first imposed by Mr. Trump ⁠in a short lived proclamation final yr vastly raises the price of the visas which might be closely relied on within the tech, training and analysis sectors.

A federal decide in June dominated that the payment was unlawful and blocked the Trump administration ‌from amassing it. A Boston-based appeals court docket is reviewing that call whereas a special court docket considers whether or not a decide in Washington, D.C. correctly rejected a problem to the payment by a significant ‌enterprise group.

Mr. Trump’s 2025 proclamation imposing the payment expires in September, one yr after it was issued, however ‌directed ⁠the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety to undertake rules making it everlasting.

The proposed $103,265 payment by DHS, ⁠posted on-line within the Federal Register on Monday (August 24, 2026) to be formally revealed on Tuesday (August 25, 2026), kicks off a 30-day public remark interval. The rule might be finalised by the top of the yr.

The H-1B program permits U.S. employers to rent international staff with coaching in specialty ​fields and presents 65,000 visas yearly, with one other ‌20,000 for staff with superior levels, authorised for 3 to 6 years. The order Mr. 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 elements.

Debate over visa program

Mr. Trump, a Republican, and different critics of the H-1B program ‌say it’s abused by many corporations that exchange American staff with cheaper international labour. However enterprise ​teams and lots of particular person corporations have stated the visa program is required to deal with an absence of certified American staff for some jobs and to permit U.S. companies to recruit ⁠prime expertise.

About 70 employers had paid the $100,000 payment on a complete of 85 visa functions as of late February, based on court docket filings.

In imposing the payment, Mr. Trump invoked the President’s energy below federal immigration regulation to limit the ‌entry of sure international nationals who can be detrimental to U.S. pursuits. The payment is being challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest U.S. 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 regulation that created the H-1B visa program. The States and teams that sued additionally say that the Division of Homeland Safety can’t impose charges, ‌taxes, or different means to generate income for the USA with out permission from Congress.

The Trump administration has maintained that the payment ​is just not a conventional tax and that courts have little energy to query the President’s authority to limit entry into the nation.

Amid Mr. 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 information from U.S. 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 will 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 based mostly in different ​nations to the USA.