The $100,000 H-1B Fee Explained: Who Pays and Who Is Exempt

The proclamation, titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on September 21, 2025 and restricts entry into the United States for H-1B nonimmigrants unless their petition is accompanied by a $100,000 payment, or the worker receives a national interest exemption from the Department of Homeland Security. The restriction is set to expire 12 months after its effective date, on September 21, 2026, unless the administration extends it. Crucially, within 24 hours of the signing, the White House clarified that the fee applies only prospectively, to new petitions filed after the effective date, and does not reach back to affect visas or petitions already in process. The fee must be paid through pay.gov before an employer files the underlying H-1B petition with USCIS, and the petitioner must submit proof of payment, or evidence of an exception, or USCIS will deny the case outright. The Department of State separately verifies payment before issuing a visa. This is a one-time payment tied to the petition, not an annual charge, but at $100,000 it dwarfs every other fee in the H-1B system combined.

The fee is aimed squarely at new H-1B petitions for beneficiaries who are physically outside the United States at the time of filing and who do not already hold a valid H-1B visa. USCIS guidance issued October 20, 2025 clarified that the fee, or an exception, is required when the beneficiary is abroad without a valid H-1B visa, or when the petition requests consular processing, port-of-entry notification, or preflight inspection, meaning the person plans to activate their status by entering the country. In practical terms, this hits first-time H-1B hires who are being recruited from overseas and existing H-1B workers who let their visa lapse and now need a fresh consular stamp. It also reaches new cap-registration cycles: the FY2027 H-1B lottery, with registration in March 2026, is subject to the fee for any selected beneficiary who will need to enter the U.S. from abroad to start work. Because of this, many employers have shifted their hiring and immigration strategy toward candidates who are already inside the U.S. in another status, since those cases can often qualify for a change of status instead.

The proclamation relies on the president's authority under sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict entry of noncitizens found to be detrimental to U.S. interests, the same legal basis used for past travel restrictions. Business groups, universities, and immigration attorneys quickly challenged aspects of the policy, particularly the vague and narrowly interpreted national interest exemption process, which USCIS has described as an extraordinarily rare circumstance requiring proof that no American worker is available, that the hire poses no security threat, and that the fee would significantly undermine U.S. interests. Legal commentary through late 2025 and into 2026 noted that early court challenges had not blocked the fee, and some industry trackers describe it as having been upheld against initial legal challenges, though litigation over the scope of the national interest exception and the underlying statutory authority continued. Employers should treat the fee as currently enforceable and not assume relief is coming, while watching for updates as the September 2026 expiration date approaches and the administration decides whether to extend it.

Immigration teams have adapted quickly. Many companies now default to change-of-status filings for candidates already inside the United States on F-1, L-1, or other statuses, since a change of status approved inside the U.S. does not trigger the fee, even though the person could later travel abroad and obtain a visa stamp without owing it either, as long as the underlying petition was approved before departure. Some multinational employers are shifting new hires into roles abroad temporarily, or using L-1 intracompany transfers where those visas fit, to avoid triggering a $100,000 charge for someone who could otherwise be brought in relatively cheaply. Universities and nonprofit research institutions have pushed back hard, since the current guidance provides no blanket exemption for cap-exempt employers, a significant cost shock for research labs that rely on modestly funded postdoctoral hires. Budgeting conversations have also changed: recruiting teams now build the $100,000 figure into total cost-of-hire calculations for any overseas candidate, which has made offers to candidates abroad far less competitive than offers to candidates already inside the country.