Proposed $103,265 H-1B Fee: What Applicants Should Know Now

If you have an H-1B petition pending, or you plan to file one for the next cap season, there is a new proposal you should know about. On August 25, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule called Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions in the Federal Register. This is a proposal only. It is not a final rule, so no new fee is being charged today. The proposal would add a $103,265 fee to every H-1B petition that counts against the annual cap. That includes petitions that qualify for the advanced degree exemption. The fee would be paid at the time of filing, on top of all the other fees that already apply. The fee would not apply to H-1B petitions that are not subject to the cap. That means employers in certain categories, such as some universities and research organizations, would likely not pay it under the proposal as written. Read the official text to confirm how it applies to your situation. DHS says the goal is to raise money to help pay for the costs of running the immigration system across several federal agencies. The public had 30 days to send comments. That comment period closed on September 24, 2026. A correction notice was published on September 10, 2026. The proposal cannot take effect until DHS publishes a final rule. As of now, no implementation date has been announced. Some immigration law firms expect that a final rule would face court challenges. Those challenges could change the outcome, so the final version may look different from the proposal. This is separate from the $100,000 payment that a 2025 presidential proclamation created for certain H-1B petitions. A federal court in Massachusetts issued an order on June 8, 2026 that vacated USCIS guidance on that payment. DHS has said it disagrees with the order and asked an appeals court to pause it. The proclamation was also extended through September 21, 2027. Check the USCIS H-1B page for the latest status before you pay anything tied to that payment. There is also a fee change that is already in effect. According to USCIS, a DHS final rule issued on August 10, 2026 changed the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee for H-1B and L-1 petitions. Form I-129 petitions postmarked or submitted on or after September 9, 2026 must include the fees required under that rule. What this means for you: Nothing about the $103,265 fee is in effect yet, so you do not need to pay it now. But fees for H-1B and L-1 filings have changed in other ways, so check the current fee information on uscis.gov before you mail or submit any form. Keep copies of your receipts and filing packages. Be careful with websites, consultants, or social media posts that say a fee is already in place or that they can secure your filing for a set price. Official information is free on uscis.gov and in the Federal Register. If you are planning an H-1B filing, or your employer is deciding whether to file for next year's cap season, this is a good time to ask questions. Talk to an immigration attorney about how the proposal, the court case, and the current fee rules could affect your specific case and timing. This article is general information, not legal advice. Sources: Federal Register: Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions (proposed rule, August 25, 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/25/2026-17324/fee-for-certain-h-1b-petitions USCIS: H-1B Specialty Occupations: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations USCIS: H-1B FAQ: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/h-1b-faq CIS: DHS Proposes New Regulation to Add $100K Fee to Some H-1B Petitions: https://cis.org/Jacobs/DHS-Proposes-New-Regulation-Add-100K-Fee-Some-H1B-Petitions Photo: Beth Stevenson on Unsplash