The Department of Homeland Security filed a notice of proposed rulemaking on Aug. 24, 2026 that would establish a $103,265 fee, payable at the time of filing, on every H-1B cap-subject petition — including petitions filed under the 20,000-slot advanced degree exemption. The rule, titled Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions (RIN 1615-AD20, DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0298), went on public inspection at the Federal Register the morning of Aug. 24 and is scheduled for formal publication on Aug. 25, 2026.
What the rule actually does
The fee would be added at 8 CFR 106.2(a)(3)(xii) as a separate, standalone charge rather than being folded into the existing H-1B petition fee. DHS says it structured it that way to make the revenue easier to track and allocate. Critically, the rule states the fee would be owed “in addition to any other applicable fees or payments” — meaning it stacks on top of the base I-129 fee, the ACWIA training fee, the fraud prevention and detection fee, the asylum program fee, any premium processing fee, and any payment required under a presidential proclamation.
DHS projects an annual volume of 85,000 cap-subject petitions — the 65,000 regular cap plus the 20,000 U.S. master’s exemption — which at $103,265 each would generate roughly $8.78 billion a year.
Who is exempt
The fee would not apply to cap-exempt H-1B petitions under INA sections 214(g)(5) and (7). That carve-out covers institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations affiliated with a university, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental research organizations. DHS explained the exemption by noting that many cap-exempt employers are research institutions. Universities and their affiliated hospitals, in other words, would not pay it. Startups, consultancies, hospitals without a university affiliation, and ordinary employers filing in the lottery would.
The fee is also tied specifically to cap-subject filings, so it would not reach H-1B extensions, amendments, or change-of-employer transfer petitions. Miki Kawashima Matrician, a partner at WR Immigration and an AILA board member, made the same point in a public note on the rule the day it was previewed, confirming the fee does not apply to extensions, amendments, or transfers, and that the comment period closes Sept. 24, 2026.
The stated rationale
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said in the agency’s announcement that the fee “is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers.”
The rule also names a second, non-revenue purpose. DHS writes that employers required to pay $103,265 “would be less likely to hire an H-1B worker over a qualified and highly-skilled American worker unless the need is legitimate,” and that because demand for H-1B workers exceeds the cap, the fee “could also have the indirect benefit of better protecting the wages and job opportunities of U.S. workers.”
How to comment
Written comments are due on or before 30 days after publication — Sept. 24, 2026, based on the scheduled Aug. 25 publication date. Comments must be filed through regulations.gov under docket number USCIS-2026-0298. DHS says it will not treat emails or letters sent directly to agency officials as comments, and is not accepting mailed or hand-delivered submissions.
The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration said on Aug. 24 that the proposal would “severely weaken the education-to-workforce pipeline” by making it “prohibitively expensive for many employers to hire international graduates.”
Note that this rule affects H-1B petitions only. Employment-based green card categories including EB-2 NIW and EB-1A are not covered by the proposed fee.
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Source: USCIS Newsroom