$100,000 fee added to H-1B

Summary

A September 2025 proclamation, effective September 21, conditioned new H-1B petitions on a $100,000 payment, up from prior fees of about $2,000-$5,000. Twenty states plus healthcare, education, and religious groups sued, and on June 8, 2026 a federal court in Massachusetts vacated the fee as an unlawful tax lacking congressional authorization -- the court declined to stay its ruling pending appeal and paused it only temporarily, and on July 24, 2026 the First Circuit refused to stay the vacatur, so the fee is blocked while the appeal proceeds. A September 18, 2026 proclamation extended the restriction to September 2027, and DHS proposed a separate $103,265 fee for cap-subject petitions.

What happened

On September 19, 2025, the administration issued a proclamation (Proclamation 10973) adding a $100,000 payment as a condition for new H-1B petitions, effective September 21, 2025. USCIS implemented the fee for cap-subject petitions. Twenty states along with healthcare, education, and religious organizations filed suit challenging it as unlawful. On June 8, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated the fee, ruling it an unlawful tax that lacked congressional authorization. The administration appealed on June 11, 2026, and the district court declined to stay its vacatur pending appeal but administratively stayed it while the First Circuit considered the government's emergency stay motion; on July 24, 2026 the First Circuit declined to stay the vacatur pending appeal, so the $100,000 payment cannot currently be required. On August 25, 2026 DHS proposed a rule setting a $103,265 fee for all H-1B cap-subject petitions, and on September 18, 2026 the President signed Proclamation 11069 extending the restriction until September 21, 2027.

Impact on the United States

The district court found that the fee harmed the plaintiff states' ability to staff public colleges and universities, schools and healthcare systems and would exacerbate staffing shortages in those sectors; rural schools and hospitals reliant on immigrant workers warned it threatened their recruiting. Courts vacated the fee in June 2026 and the First Circuit declined to reinstate it in July, but the administration extended the proclamation to 2027 and proposed a $103,265 replacement fee by rule, leaving recruiting plans uncertain.

Documented effects

1. Sep 2025Fee jumps from about $2,000-$5,000 in visa-related fees to $100,000 per new H-1B petition[7]
2. Dec 2025Twenty states plus healthcare, education, and religious groups filed suit[1][3]
3. Jun 2026A federal court (D. Mass.) vacated the policy implementing the $100,000 fee on June 8, 2026; it declined to stay that ruling pending appeal but entered a temporary administrative stay while the First Circuit considered the government's emergency stay motion.[6][11]
4. Jul 24, 2026The First Circuit declined to stay the vacatur on July 24, 2026, so the $100,000 payment cannot currently be required.[7][8][11]
5. Aug 25, 2026DHS proposed a $103,265 fee for all H-1B cap-subject petitions, in addition to all other fees.[10]
6. Sep 18, 2026Proclamation 11069 extended the restriction until September 21, 2027; it says the $100,000 payment was made for over 700 petitions.[9]

Why this is rated severe

A $100,000 condition on new H-1B petitions threatened hospital, school and university staffing, which a district court found harmed the plaintiff states; the fee is vacated while on appeal, but the proclamation was extended to 2027 and a $103,265 fee proposed by rule.

vacated June 8, 2026; First Circuit denied a stay pending appeal July 24, 2026; proclamation extended to Sept. 21, 2027 and a $103,265 fee proposed by rule, but the $100,000 payment is not being collected

Corrections & updates [8]

Every change to a fact on this page after publication is logged here, newest first.

1. Sep 29, 2026UpdatedStatus

   Status changed after publication. On July 24, 2026 the First Circuit refused the administration's request to stay the June 8 vacatur, so the $100,000 fee is blocked and not being collected while the appeal proceeds. The President then signed Proclamation 11069 on Sept. 18, 2026, extending the underlying restriction to Sept. 21, 2027. DHS separately proposed a $103,265 fee for H-1B cap-subject petitions (Federal Register, Aug. 25, 2026). That fee is still only a proposal.[7][8][9][10]

2. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSource

   Source details were corrected to what the documents show. The California Attorney General's 20-state lawsuit was announced Dec. 12, 2025, not Oct. 23 or September, and the healthcare, education and religious groups' suit (reported by PBS) was filed in October 2025, so the effect is now dated to the state suit. PBS's article is dated Oct. 8, 2025 and the American Immigration Council post Oct. 31, 2025. Ogletree Deakins and Clark Hill are law-firm client alerts and are relabeled Tier 3.[1][3]

3. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedKey facts

   Corrected: the entry said the district court stayed its June 8, 2026 vacatur pending appeal on June 12. Per the First Circuit's July 24, 2026 order, the district court declined to stay its ruling pending appeal and only paused it administratively while the First Circuit considered the government's emergency stay motion. The court order (Tier 1) is added as a source, replacing a law-firm alert as evidence for the June ruling.[11]

4. Sep 29, 2026UpdatedSummary

   Updated: the immersive summary still said USCIS was collecting the $100,000 fee again; since the First Circuit refused to stay the vacatur on July 24, 2026, the fee cannot be required while the appeal proceeds.[9][10][11]

   + Show previous and current text- Hide previous and current text

   Previously

   The September 2025 proclamation took effect September 21, imposing a $100,000 surcharge on new H-1B petitions that hospitals, universities, and religious groups warned priced them out of recruiting skilled workers. Twenty states sued, and on June 8, 2026 a Massachusetts federal court vacated the fee as an unlawful tax. That vacatur was short-lived: it was stayed on June 12, 2026, so USCIS is again collecting the $100,000 fee on new petitions while the administration's appeal proceeds.

   Now

   The September 2025 proclamation took effect September 21, imposing a $100,000 surcharge on new H-1B petitions that hospitals, universities, and religious groups warned priced them out of recruiting skilled workers. Twenty states sued, and on June 8, 2026 a Massachusetts federal court vacated the fee as an unlawful tax. The court paused its ruling only temporarily, and on July 24, 2026 the First Circuit refused to stay the vacatur, so the fee cannot be required while the administration's appeal proceeds. The President extended the proclamation to September 2027, and DHS proposed a separate $103,265 fee by rule.

5. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedFigure

   Corrected: the entry said prior H-1B fees were roughly $1,500-$5,000, citing an American Immigration Council post that does not give that range. Newsweek reports that before the proclamation employers generally paid about $2,000 to $5,000 in visa-related fees. The statement that the fee had already priced hospitals and universities out of recruiting and worsened staffing shortages is now attributed: the district court found it harmed the states' ability to staff public colleges, schools and health systems and would exacerbate staffing shortages.[7][11][1]

6. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSeverity rationale

   The rationale described 'immediate' harm; the fee has been vacated and cannot be required while on appeal, though the proclamation was extended and a replacement fee proposed. Severity unchanged.[9][10][11]

   + Show previous and current text- Hide previous and current text

   Previously

   Severity 4 reflects broad, immediate harm to US healthcare and higher-education staffing pipelines.

   Now

   A $100,000 condition on new H-1B petitions threatened hospital, school and university staffing, which a district court found harmed the plaintiff states; the fee is vacated while on appeal, but the proclamation was extended to 2027 and a $103,265 fee proposed by rule.

7. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedDisplay copy

   The body said hospitals, universities and religious groups warned the fee 'priced them out'; the record documents that rural schools and hospitals warned it threatened their recruiting.[1]

   + Show previous and current text- Hide previous and current text

   Previously

   The September 2025 proclamation took effect September 21, imposing a $100,000 surcharge on new H-1B petitions that hospitals, universities, and religious groups warned priced them out of recruiting skilled workers. Twenty states sued, and on June 8, 2026 a Massachusetts federal court vacated the fee as an unlawful tax. The court paused its ruling only temporarily, and on July 24, 2026 the First Circuit refused to stay the vacatur, so the fee cannot be required while the administration's appeal proceeds. The President extended the proclamation to September 2027, and DHS proposed a separate $103,265 fee by rule.

   Now

   The September 2025 proclamation took effect September 21, imposing a $100,000 surcharge on new H-1B petitions that rural schools and hospitals warned threatened their recruiting. Twenty states sued, and on June 8, 2026 a Massachusetts federal court vacated the fee as an unlawful tax. The court paused its ruling only temporarily, and on July 24, 2026 the First Circuit refused to stay the vacatur, so the fee cannot be required while the administration's appeal proceeds. The President extended the proclamation to September 2027, and DHS proposed a separate $103,265 fee by rule.

8. Sep 29, 2026ClarifiedSource labels

   Source tier labels brought in line with the site's tier rule (specialist and trade publications are Tier 3; general news organizations are Tier 2): Bloomberg Law (Tier 2 to 3). No claim in the entry changed.

Sources [11]