US government imposes $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applicants
Key Points(5)
- They must pay an extra $100,000 per applicant, starting September 21, 2025, for the next 12 months.
- The H-1B program allows companies to hire foreign skilled workers for specialized occupations.
- Many major tech companies, including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, rely heavily on the program.
- H-1B visas are already costly, typically ranging from $1,700 to $8,500 per worker depending on company size and processing options, far below the new $100,000 fee.
- The White House said the new $100,000 fee applies only to new H-1B applicants and does not affect current visa holders, even if they are traveling outside the U.S.
The U.S. government announced new restrictions on the H-1B visa program, saying it has been “deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.”
The new policy affects companies seeking to hire new H-1B visa workers. They must pay an extra $100,000 per applicant, starting September 21, 2025, for the next 12 months.
The H-1B program allows companies to hire foreign skilled workers for specialized occupations. Many major tech companies, including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, rely heavily on the program. H-1B visas are already costly, typically ranging from $1,700 to $8,500 per worker depending on company size and processing options, far below the new $100,000 fee.
The White House said the new $100,000 fee applies only to new H-1B applicants and does not affect current visa holders, even if they are traveling outside the U.S.
Under the new rules, companies seeking to hire H-1B workers must pay $100,000 per petition, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that the hiring is in the national interest. The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security will coordinate to enforce the new restrictions, and the Secretary of Labor will revise prevailing wage levels to better protect American workers.
“The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security,” the White House said in a proclamation. They cited examples in the technology sector, where some IT companies have laid off thousands of U.S. employees while bringing in H-1B workers at significantly lower wages. “One software company was approved for over 5,000 H-1B workers in FY 2025; around the same time, it announced layoffs of more than 15,000 American employees,” the proclamation states.
The U.S. government reports that the share of foreign workers in STEM fields has more than doubled since 2000, with computer and math occupations seeing the foreign workforce grow from 17.7% to 26.1%. They warned that these trends make it harder for American graduates to find jobs and depress wages, especially in entry-level positions. “Among college graduates ages 22 to 27, computer science and computer engineering majors are facing some of the highest unemployment rates in the country at 6.1% and 7.5%, respectively,” they said.
The White House framed the changes as a measure to prioritize “high-skilled and high-paid aliens” and prevent abuses that threaten both the domestic workforce and national security.
“The high numbers of relatively low-wage workers in the H-1B program undercut the integrity of the program and are detrimental to American workers’ wages and labor opportunities,” the proclamation reads.
