Washington: The Trump administration is moving to make it much more expensive for American companies to employ highly skilled foreign workers, with a new proposal that could reshape one of the United States' most important immigration programmes for technology and other specialised industries.
The Department of Homeland Security has proposed an additional fee of $103,265 for H 1B petitions that are subject to the annual visa cap. The proposed charge would come on top of the other fees employers already pay when sponsoring a foreign worker. The proposal includes workers who qualify for the separate 20,000 place allocation for people with advanced degrees from American universities. It would not apply to certain employers and organisations that are exempt from the H 1B annual cap, including some universities and research organisations.
The government says the new fee is intended to recover part of the cost of running the US immigration system. Officials estimate that it could raise about $8.8 billion a year if roughly 85,000 eligible petitions are filed.
The proposal is not yet a final rule. Employers, workers, universities and other interested groups have until September 24 to submit comments before the government decides whether to move ahead.
The development follows a major legal setback for the administration. Last year, President Donald Trump introduced a $100,000 payment requirement for certain new H 1B workers. A federal judge later ruled that the government had exceeded its authority, and an appeals court declined to put that decision on hold. The earlier $100,000 charge is therefore not currently being collected.
The new proposal represents another attempt to achieve a similar goal through the federal regulatory process.
The H 1B programme was created to allow American employers to bring foreign professionals into specialised jobs where they need particular skills. The programme is widely used by technology companies, engineering firms, financial businesses, universities and research organisations. There are normally 65,000 H 1B places available each year, along with another 20,000 places for qualifying advanced degree holders.
The administration argues that the programme has been abused and that American workers can be disadvantaged when companies use foreign workers to fill jobs at lower costs. The government has therefore been introducing several changes designed to favour highly skilled and highly paid applicants.
Earlier this year, the H 1B selection process was changed from a purely random lottery to a weighted system that gives higher paid and more highly skilled workers a better chance of being selected. The administration says the change will make the programme more focused on workers who can contribute to the American economy.
The number of registrations has also fallen sharply. The latest registration cycle recorded about 344,000 applicants, compared with roughly 759,000 in 2023. Changes to the registration system and efforts to prevent multiple registrations have contributed to the decline.
The proposed fee could have a particularly strong effect on Indian professionals. Indian nationals make up the largest group of H 1B beneficiaries, and Indian technology companies have historically relied heavily on the programme to send skilled employees to the United States.
For Indian students studying in America, the proposal could also create uncertainty. Many international students complete their studies, work temporarily under the existing student employment system and then depend on an H 1B visa to continue their careers in the United States. A six figure employer cost could make some companies less willing to sponsor newly graduated foreign workers.
Small businesses and start ups could face an even greater challenge. A large technology company may have the resources to absorb the additional cost or establish teams in countries such as India or Canada. A small American company looking for one specialised engineer may not have the same flexibility.
This has raised concerns that a policy designed to protect American jobs could have an unexpected effect by encouraging companies to move some work outside the United States. If hiring a foreign specialist becomes too expensive, companies may choose to employ that person in another country instead of bringing the job to America.
The proposed fee is also arriving alongside other potential changes. The administration is considering tighter rules for companies that employ H 1B workers through third party arrangements and changes to exemptions from the annual visa limit. Officials are also considering ending the 60 day grace period that currently gives certain foreign workers time to find a new job after losing employment.
Together, these measures could make the H 1B system more expensive and less flexible.
For now, however, the $103,265 charge remains a proposal. The coming weeks will be closely watched by technology companies, Indian professionals, universities and immigration lawyers as the administration considers public comments and prepares for the next stage.
The larger question is whether making the H 1B programme more expensive will encourage American companies to employ more domestic workers or push some of the country's most valuable technology and professional jobs overseas. That debate is likely to become even more important as the United States decides how much access it wants to give global skilled talent while trying to protect opportunities for American workers.