What is the $103,265 H-1B fee? It is a proposed DHS charge for H-1B petitions subject to the annual cap. Announced on August 25, 2026, the fee would be paid when an employer files a qualifying petition and would come on top of other applicable H-1B filing costs. The proposal is not yet in effect.
This is separate from Trump’s previous H-1B visa fee, the $100,000 payment introduced in 2025 and later challenged in federal court. Here is what employers need to know about who could pay the new fee, which petitions may be exempt, and how the proposal could affect future H-1B hiring.
What Is the Proposed $103,265 H-1B Fee?
Let’s start with the basics. This isn’t a small bump to an existing fee schedule. It’s a brand new charge, and it’s large enough to change how some companies think about H-1B sponsorship altogether.
DHS Proposes an Additional Fee for H-1B Cap Petitions
Under the notice, DHS proposes an additional H-1B fee as its own standalone charge. It doesn’t get folded into the existing base filing fee. It sits on top of it.
The fee would be due at the time of filing and would be added to all other required payments, including the base H-1B fee, the fraud prevention and detection fee, and the ACWIA training fee, where applicable. DHS says the money would help cover the cost of running the broader immigration system, and not just USCIS operations. The agency cites work across DHS, the Department of Justice, the Department of State, and the Department of Labor, and estimates the combined cost of that work at roughly $8.8 billion per year.
The Fee Is Not Yet in Effect
Worth saying plainly: this is a proposal, not a rule on the books. Public comments are open through September 24, 2026, and DHS must review the feedback before it can move to a final version.
Could the final number change? It could. The final rule, if issued, could also face legal challenges over DHS’s statutory authority to impose the fee.
Which H-1B Petitions Would Be Subject to the Proposed Fee?
Not everyone filing an H-1B petition would owe this fee. The rule targets a specific slice of H-1B filings, so the details here actually matter.
Regular H-1B Cap Petitions
Petitions selected under the standard 65,000-annual-cap fall squarely within the scope of the proposed rule. That means the proposed $103,265 fee would apply whether the beneficiary is outside the U.S. or already in the country, as long as the petition is cap-subject.
Advanced-Degree Exemption Petitions
Here’s a detail a lot of employers might miss: the extra 20,000 slots set aside for workers with a U.S. master’s degree or higher don’t get a pass. DHS built the advanced-degree exemption into the fee structure, so having a graduate degree doesn’t reduce the cost.
H-1B Petitions That Are Not Subject to the Annual Cap
The proposed fee would not apply to H-1B petitions that are cap-exempt. Common examples include petitions involving institutions of higher education and qualifying related or affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental research organizations.
Who Would Pay the $103,265 H-1B Fee?
Under the proposal, the petitioning employer would be responsible for paying the $103,265 fee to USCIS.
U.S. Employers Sponsoring Cap-Subject H-1B Workers
Any employer filing a cap-subject petition would need to plan for this cost. Small and mid-sized companies that sponsor even a handful of H-1B workers a year could feel this fast. A firm sponsoring five workers, for example, would be looking at over $500,000 in this fee alone, before wages, legal costs, or anything else.
Impact on Employers Hiring Through the H-1B Lottery
For lottery cases, the major cost decision would come after selection, when the employer decides whether to file the cap-subject H-1B petition and pay the additional fee. A selected lottery entry becomes an actual petition only after the employer agrees to pay all associated fees. That decision point is exactly where this new cost would show up, and it could push some employers to reconsider which selected candidates they move forward with.
Potential Impact on International Students Transitioning to H-1B
F-1 students hoping to transition to H-1B status could also feel the ripple effects. If employers get more cautious about which roles justify the added expense, that caution could shape which recent graduates actually get sponsored.
Would the $103,265 Fee Apply to H-1B Workers Already in the U.S.?
Yes. The proposed rule doesn’t carve out a location-based exception. It would apply whether the worker is outside the U.S. and entering on a new visa, or already here, say, an F-1 student changing status to H-1B. That differs from the 2025 proclamation payment, which targeted certain H-1B beneficiaries outside the United States and restricted their entry. A beneficiary seeking a change of status from within the United States was outside that payment framework.
How Is the $103,265 Proposal Different From the Earlier $100,000 H-1B Fee?
These two fees look similar on paper. Legally, they’re built on completely different foundations.
The $100,000 fee was set by a presidential proclamation issued in September 2025. On June 8, 2026, a federal district court vacated the agency guidance implementing the $100,000 payment, and the government’s appeal remains pending. This new $103,265 charge skips the proclamation route entirely. DHS is pursuing it through formal rulemaking instead, leaning on a cost-recovery authority found in the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Here’s how the two compare side by side:
| $100,000 Proclamation Fee (2025) | $103,265 Proposed Rule (2026) | |
| Legal basis | Presidential proclamation | DHS rulemaking under INA cost-recovery authority |
| Applies to | Workers entering via consular processing abroad | Cap-subject petitions, regardless of location |
| University/nonprofit research exemption | No categorical exemption; DHS could grant national-interest exceptions | Cap-exempt petitions are outside the proposed fee |
| Current status | Vacated by federal court, on appeal | Proposed rule, comments open through Sept. 24, 2026 |
DHS says that if the $100,000 proclamation payment is again enforceable and the proclamation is extended or renewed so that both requirements overlap, a petitioner subject to both could have to pay both amounts. Stack them together, and total fee exposure for a single hire could top $200,000, and that’s before wages, attorney fees, or anything else that goes into sponsorship.
How Fayad Law Can Help Employers With H-1B Sponsorship
A fee change this size doesn’t just affect a line item on a budget. It can affect who gets sponsored, when, and whether a filing makes financial sense at all. If you’re prepping for the next H-1B registration cycle, trying to figure out whether a role qualifies as cap-exempt, or just trying to understand what the proposed H-1B fee could mean for your hiring costs, it helps to have someone tracking this closely. An immigration lawyer in Richmond who follows these rules throughout the federal process can help you avoid a costly misstep. Our team keeps an eye on developments like this H-1B visa fee increase so employers and prospective H-1B workers can make decisions based on where things actually stand, not guesswork.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this post does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration laws and USCIS procedures change frequently; please consult with a qualified immigration attorney regarding your specific case.
