White House Sets $100,000 One‑Time Fee for New H‑1B Petitions Starting Sep 21, 2025

When White House issued a presidential proclamation on September 19, 2025, it unleashed a wave of confusion across tech firms, universities and staffing agencies that rely on the H‑1B visa program. The decree, effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on September 21, 2025, demands a one‑time $100,000 fee for every new petition filed after that moment. Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, later reassured the public on X that the change targets only fresh applications, not existing workers or renewals. Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security instructed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause any adjudication until the fee is paid, even though a practical payment mechanism remains elusive.

Historical Context: How the H‑1B System Got Here

Since the program’s inception in the early 1990s, the H‑1B visa has been marketed as a bridge for skilled foreign talent to fill gaps in the U.S. labor market. Over the years, the fee structure has hovered under $4,000 for most employers: $215 for the lottery registration, a $780 petition fee, and ancillary costs ranging from $1,800 to $2,600 for fraud prevention, public‑law training and premium processing. Those numbers, while not trivial, were manageable for midsize tech firms and university research departments.

The Trump administration, which pushed a hard‑line stance on immigration, argued that the system was being gamed by outsourcing firms that undercut U.S. wages. That rhetoric set the stage for the September 2025 proclamation, which, on paper, raises the cost ceiling by more than 2,400 percent.

Details of the Proclamation: What the New Rule Actually Says

The proclamation reads like a legal hammer: any H‑1B petition filed after September 21, 2025 must be accompanied by a $100,000 payment, or else the applicant is deemed inadmissible. The fee is described as a "one‑time entry charge" rather than an annual or recurring cost. Crucially, the text makes no distinction between cap‑subject and cap‑exempt categories, though later agency guidance narrows the impact to new cap‑subject petitions selected in the upcoming February 2026 lottery.

• Amount: $100,000 per new petition.
• Effective date: 12:01 a.m. ET, September 21, 2025.
• Scope: New H‑1B petitions filed after the effective date; does NOT affect renewals, extensions, or existing visas.
• Target group: Applicants outside the United States selected in the February 2026 lottery (FY2027 cap).

At the time of writing, neither the Department of State nor DHS has published a portal for the payment, leaving employers to wonder where to send a six‑figure check.

Agency Clarifications: Cutting Through the Confusion

Within 24 hours of the proclamation, three federal bodies released memoranda to soften the panic. On September 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement clarifying that the fee "only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed" before the September 21 deadline. The same day, USCIS circulated a memorandum echoing that the charge does not apply to:

• Beneficiaries of petitions filed prior to September 21, 2025.
• Workers currently holding approved H‑1B visas.
• Anyone with a valid H‑1B non‑immigrant visa traveling in and out of the United States.

On September 21, USCIS added a FAQ page confirming that renewals, extensions and cap‑exempt categories (such as L‑1 intra‑company transferees, EB‑5 investors, P‑1 athletes, R‑1 religious workers and TN professionals) remain untouched.

Impact on Employers and Workers: The Real‑World Fallout

Raleigh‑based immigration attorney Omar Bashi described the immediate reaction as "pure panic." He told reporters that two of his clients "started freaking out" because they had engineers overseas waiting on H‑1B approval, and the absence of a clear payment path left them in limbo.

Smaller startups, which previously budgeted around $3,500 per H‑1B hire, now face a potential $100,000 hit—a barrier that could push them to either hire domestically or turn to alternative visa streams like O‑1 extraordinary ability petitions. Larger corporations, with deep pockets, may view the fee as a cost of doing business, but even they will have to re‑evaluate recruitment pipelines.

The ripple effect extends to universities that rely on international graduate students for research labs. Many institutions have historically sponsored H‑1Bs for post‑doctoral scholars; the new fee threatens to reduce those opportunities unless federal exemptions are granted on a case‑by‑case basis.

Legal and Policy Implications: What the Future Might Hold

Legal scholars note that the proclamation skirts traditional rulemaking processes, raising questions about its enforceability. While the Department of Homeland Security retains authority to grant "national interest" waivers, the criteria for such exemptions are vague.

Critics argue that the fee could be challenged in court as an unlawful surcharge that violates the Immigration and Nationality Act’s prohibition on excessive fees. Pro‑business groups are already mobilizing to file amicus briefs, citing the economic harm to the tech sector—a sector that contributed $1.9 trillion to GDP in 2024.

On the other side, the administration defends the measure as a deterrent against so‑called "visa shopping" and a way to protect American wages. Whether the policy will stand the legal test remains to be seen, but the debate has already renewed calls for comprehensive immigration reform.

Looking Ahead: What to Watch in the Coming Months

The next major milestone is the February 2026 H‑1B lottery, formally known as the February 2026 H‑1B lotteryUnited States. Employers must decide whether to pay the fee, seek a national‑interest waiver, or explore alternative visa categories.

Watch for further guidance from USCIS on payment logistics, and for any congressional hearings that may address the policy’s constitutionality. For now, the $100,000 fee sits like a land‑mine for any company hoping to bring fresh talent onto U.S. soil.