Update as of September 20, 2026: The White House has extended the $100,000 H-1B fee through September 21, 2027. However, the fee remains blocked by a federal court order, and USCIS is still barred from collecting it under the current litigation.
This article updates our July 2026 coverage, “Federal Court Deals Another Blow to Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Fee: What Employers Need to Know,” and connects it with our separate August update about the proposed $103,265 fee for cap-subject H-1B petitions.
The short version is important: the proclamation has been extended on paper, but the practical situation for employers has not changed today.
What just happened?
President Trump issued a new presidential proclamation in mid-September 2026 extending the original September 2025 H-1B fee measure for another 12 months.
A presidential proclamation is an official presidential directive. In this case, the proclamation continues a policy requiring a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B workers seeking admission to the United States from abroad.
The original proclamation was scheduled to expire on September 21, 2026. The new proclamation extends it through September 21, 2027.
The new proclamation is structured as an extension rather than an entirely new fee program. Its language is described as virtually identical to the original version.
One notable change is that the new text expressly states that the fee applies to people seeking admission from outside the United States, including through:
- A U.S. consulate abroad; or
- A U.S. port of entry.
Greg Siskind, co-founder of Siskind Susser, explained that this language moves what had previously appeared in agency guidance into the official proclamation itself.
Can USCIS collect the $100,000 fee right now?
No. USCIS remains legally barred from collecting the fee under the current court orders.
In the earlier litigation:
- A federal district court vacated the original September 2025 proclamation.
- A federal appeals court refused to stay that ruling.
- The plaintiffs included 20 U.S. states.
“Vacated” means the court set aside the government’s action. A “stay” would have temporarily paused the lower court’s ruling while the appeal continued. Because the appeals court refused to issue a stay, the district court’s decision blocking the fee remains in effect.
Mitch Wexler, senior counsel at Fragomen, stated that USCIS remains barred from collecting the fee under the September 2025 proclamation. Because the new proclamation is written as an extension, he explained that USCIS should be barred from collecting under the extended version as well.
If USCIS takes the position that the new proclamation falls outside the existing court order, the states involved in the litigation are likely to challenge that position quickly.
For employers filing today, the key practical point is this: do not assume the $100,000 payment is currently due simply because the White House announced an extension.
What does the extension change for employers?
For now, the extension mainly preserves uncertainty.
The fee is still legally blocked, but the administration has made clear that it intends to continue pursuing the policy. That means employers should not treat the fee as permanently gone.
The government could ask a higher court to change the current legal position. The plaintiffs could also challenge the new proclamation directly. Additional USCIS guidance may be issued, and the legal status could change as the case continues.
Employers should therefore separate two questions:
-
What does the proclamation say?
It extends the $100,000 payment requirement through September 21, 2027 for certain H-1B workers seeking admission from outside the United States. -
What can USCIS legally collect today?
Based on the existing court orders and immigration counsel’s analysis, USCIS remains barred from collecting the fee at this time.
That distinction matters when you are planning an H-1B filing, preparing a budget, or advising an employee about travel.
What is the connection to the proposed $103,265 fee?
The proposed $103,265 fee is a separate issue.
In August 2026, the Department of Homeland Security, through USCIS, proposed a regulation imposing an additional fee of $103,265 on all cap-subject H-1B petitions. The proposal was published in the Federal Register and is not yet in effect. You can review the agency’s announcement here: DHS Proposes Additional H-1B Fee.
A cap-subject petition is an H-1B petition counted against the annual numerical limit. That includes:
- 65,000 regular H-1B cap numbers; and
- 20,000 additional numbers reserved for certain beneficiaries with qualifying U.S. master’s degrees.
The proposed $103,265 fee would be separate from existing USCIS filing fees, attorney fees, and other required payments. It would also be different from the $100,000 proclamation fee.
Importantly, the proposed regulation would apply to both:
- Workers outside the United States who would use consular processing; and
- International students already in the United States who are changing from F-1 student status to H-1B status.
Consular processing means applying for an immigration visa at a U.S. consulate abroad before seeking admission to the United States. A change of status, by contrast, generally allows an eligible person already in the United States to move from one nonimmigrant status to another without immediately applying for a visa at a consulate.
The proposed rule is not currently payable. It would first need to go through notice-and-comment rulemaking. That process requires the agency to publish a proposed rule, accept public comments, review those comments, and issue a final rule before the fee could take effect.
What is the worst-case H-1B visa cost for employers?
If both policies ultimately survive, the financial impact could be substantial.
If:
- A higher court revives the $100,000 proclamation fee; and
- USCIS finalizes and implements the proposed $103,265 cap-subject fee,
an affected employer could face cumulative government fees exceeding $200,000 per cap-subject H-1B petition.
Mitch Wexler described the proposed fee as separate from and additional to the $100,000 proclamation fee, if the proclamation fee is reinstated through further court action.
This is a potential future scenario, not the current filing requirement. But employers planning hiring budgets for 2027 should understand the risk, particularly if they regularly sponsor workers through the H-1B lottery.
What data is the White House citing?
The new proclamation cites several statistics as support for continuing the policy. These figures should be understood as administration claims reported in the proclamation, not as independent findings verified by every outside organization.
The proclamation states that:
- More than 700 petitions have had payment of the $100,000 fee submitted since the original proclamation took effect in September 2025.
- Registrations from large IT staffing and outsourcing firms fell from 24,946 to 2,055, a reported 92% decline.
- Consular processing requests fell by nearly 97% between the FY2025 and FY2027 cap seasons.
- Registrations for beneficiaries with at least a U.S. master’s degree increased from 45.1% of total registrants for FY2026 to 66.1% for FY2027.
- Job offers at the two highest wage levels represented approximately 46.3% of H-1B registration selections, while the lowest wage level represented 17.8%.
There is an apparent tension between the administration’s claim that payments were submitted for more than 700 petitions and the court orders stating that USCIS remains barred from collecting the fee. The safest reading is to report both points accurately: the proclamation cites the payment figure, while immigration attorneys maintain that USCIS cannot lawfully collect the fee under the current court order.
Why does this matter especially to Indian professionals?
Indian nationals remain the largest group in the H-1B program, so policy changes often have their greatest effect on Indian workers, students, and technology professionals.
According to USCIS data for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025:
- India-born beneficiaries accounted for 50.3% of H-1B approvals for initial employment: 57,747 of 114,806 approvals.
- India-born beneficiaries accounted for 77.6% of approvals for continuing employment: 226,359 of 291,542 approvals.
At the same time, the National Foundation for American Policy reported that only three India-based companies ranked among the top 25 employers with approved H-1B petitions for initial employment in FY2025. The seven largest India-based companies received approval for 4,573 initial-employment H-1B petitions. A 70% decline from FY2015 and 37% fewer than FY2024.
The broader picture is complicated: Indian nationals remain heavily represented among H-1B workers, while some India-based companies have significantly reduced their use of new H-1B sponsorship.
What should H-1B employers do now?
Employers should take a measured approach:
- Continue filing eligible H-1B petitions under the current rules. Do not delay a time-sensitive filing solely because of the extension announcement.
- Do not automatically add the $100,000 fee to a current filing unless USCIS issues guidance or a court changes the legal position.
- Budget for the $103,265 proposal as a contingency, especially for future cap-subject cases.
- Watch for a final rule on the proposed $103,265 fee. It is not in effect today.
- Do not assume the $100,000 fee is permanently eliminated. The litigation remains active, and the administration’s extension shows that it intends to continue pursuing the policy.
- Review travel plans carefully for H-1B workers and beneficiaries outside the United States.
- Speak with an immigration attorney before restructuring a hiring plan, withdrawing a petition, or making decisions based on an uncertain fee.
What is the bigger picture?
The fee extension is part of a broader tightening pattern in employment-based immigration.
On September 18, 2026, the administration issued an executive order directing the Department of State, Department of Labor, and DHS to consider an employer’s recent or planned layoffs affecting similarly situated U.S. workers when reviewing H-1B cases.
Separately, the Department of Labor is advancing a PERM overhaul under RIN 1205-AC29, titled “Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S. Workers in the PERM Immigrant Visa Program.” The proposal is under regulatory review and has not yet been published as a final rule. PERM is the labor certification process many employers use before sponsoring eligible workers for employment-based green cards.
Together, these developments point toward closer review of:
- Employer layoffs;
- Wage levels;
- Recruitment and labor-market testing;
- H-1B filing patterns;
- Consular processing; and
- The total cost of employment-based immigration.
We will continue monitoring the H-1B court ruling, the $100,000 H-1B fee litigation, the proposed $103,265 regulation, and the PERM rulemaking process.
If your company is planning an H-1B filing or evaluating future employment-based immigration costs, schedule a case evaluation with Badmus & Associates.
This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. Immigration rules, agency guidance, and court decisions can change quickly. Your options depend on the specific facts of your case. Speak with a qualified immigration attorney before making filing, travel, or employment decisions.
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