US Vice President JD Vance has backed the Trump administration’s proposal to impose a new $103,265 fee on most new H-1B visa petitions, saying American companies should prioritise hiring and training US workers.Vance shared a US media report on the proposal on X and wrote, “If an American corporation needs workers, it should hire and train Americans.”The proposed fee was announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a filing on Monday. It would apply to all H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, and would be payable when the petition is filed.The proposed charge would be in addition to other applicable H-1B fees and payments.
DHS proposes new H-1B fee
According to the DHS filing, the $103,265 fee would serve as a dedicated revenue mechanism to recover part of the government’s costs of administering the lawful immigration system. The costs would cover activities across the Department of Homeland Security as well as the Departments of Justice, State and Labour.The public has 30 days to submit comments on the proposal. The rule is not final and could take months to become official, particularly if it faces legal challenges.Also read: US proposes $103,265 H-1B fee: Hiring set to become more costlyH-1B visas allow foreign professionals to work in specialised occupations in the US. Applicants generally need a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent qualification. The visa is valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years.The latest proposal follows a legal setback for the Trump administration over an earlier $100,000 H-1B fee.
New proposal follows court setback over $100,000 fee
In June, US District Judge Leo Sorokin struck down the previous fee. According to CNN, the Boston-based judge found that the president lacked the authority to impose the requirement and held that Congress, rather than the president, had the power to change federal immigration policy to include such a requirement.Sorokin viewed the earlier payment as a tax.The earlier $100,000 payment had been introduced through a presidential proclamation in September 2025 and faced legal challenges.The new $103,265 proposal is based on a different legal authority and would establish a separate fee regime for cap-subject H-1B petitions.Under the proposal, the fee would apply to H-1B petitions subject to the annual cap. The proposed charge would not cover H-1B petitions that are exempt from the annual cap.The US has an annual quota of 85,000 new H-1B visas, including 20,000 reserved for applicants with advanced degrees.The proposed fee would therefore substantially increase the cost for employers sponsoring workers through the cap-subject H-1B programme.
Indians among major H-1B beneficiaries
The proposed fee could also affect Indian professionals, who account for a large share of H-1B visa recipients.2.83 lakh H-1B visas were allotted to Indians in fiscal 2025, accounting for 70% of the total visas, including extensions.For new visas for initial employment, Indians received nearly 58,000 visas, roughly half of the total new visas, including cap-exempt visas.The proposed $103,265 fee would be separate from the earlier $100,000 payment introduced in September 2025.The earlier measure applied to hiring H-1B workers from outside the US and its implementation was vacated by a district court in June, with the government’s appeal pending.The proposed new fee, meanwhile, is tied to whether an H-1B petition is cap-subject, rather than simply whether the worker is inside or outside the US.
