The Department of Homeland Security has published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would impose a $103,265 fee on cap-subject H-1B petitions. Stacked on top of the $100,000 payment the administration introduced by proclamation a year ago, the combined cost of sponsoring a new H-1B worker from abroad could exceed $203,000 per worker — before attorney fees, the existing filing and fraud-prevention fees, and premium processing.
The public comment period on the proposed rule runs through September 24, 2026. Until a final rule is issued, the $103,265 figure is a proposal, not law.
Why DHS says it is doing this
The proposal follows a sharp drop in new H-1B petitions filed from outside the United States in the months after the $100,000 payment took effect. Applications from abroad slowed to a trickle. DHS is now seeking to embed a six-figure charge in a formal regulation rather than relying solely on the presidential proclamation — a vehicle that has proven vulnerable in court.
The $100,000 fee is still tied up in litigation
The status of the earlier payment is genuinely unsettled, and applicants should not assume either outcome:
- In December 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judge Beryl Howell) rejected a challenge brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities, leaving the proclamation in place.
- On June 8, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts reached the opposite conclusion, vacating the implementing policy on the grounds that the payment is effectively a tax imposed without congressional authorization and that the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
- A further challenge brought by religious and labor organizations is pending in federal court in San Francisco, raising the prospect of conflicting rulings across three appellate circuits.
Appeals are pending, and the proclamation’s payment requirement was itself scheduled to sunset in September 2026. A new regulation would survive that sunset — which is likely part of the point.
What this means for applicants
For H-1B workers already in the United States and extending or transferring, the proposed fee is aimed at cap-subject petitions for beneficiaries abroad, so the direct exposure is narrower than the headline suggests. The broader effect is on employer behavior: at six figures per hire, sponsorship becomes a decision only the largest employers and the highest-value roles can justify.
That has a knock-on effect worth naming plainly. As employer-sponsored routes get more expensive and less predictable, self-petitioned categories that do not require an employer sponsor — the EB-2 National Interest Waiver and EB-1A extraordinary ability classifications — become structurally more attractive for researchers, engineers, founders, and clinicians who can meet their evidentiary standards. Neither category is subject to the H-1B cap or these fees.
Employers and beneficiaries who want to weigh in can submit comments through the federal rulemaking docket before the September 24 deadline.
Reported via r/USCIS (link post, usatoday.com); fee figures, comment deadline, and litigation history verified against independent reporting.
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Source: Reddit r/USCIS