Trump Administration Proposes $103,265 H-1B Fee To Prioritize American Workers, Fund Immigration Enforcement

The Trump administration on Monday proposed a new six-figure fee of $103,265 for most new H-1B visa petitions, aiming to overhaul the program for highly skilled foreign workers and prioritize American labor, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Vice President JD Vance quickly weighed in on the Department of Homeland Security proposal via X, quoting the Journal’s coverage and writing: “If an American corporation needs workers, it should hire and train Americans.” 

If an American corporation needs workers, it should hire and train Americans. https://t.co/C72ZYmONpK

— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 24, 2026

The proposed rule would codify the fee for cap-subject H-1B petitions—those subject to the annual limit of 65,000 regular visas plus 20,000 for advanced-degree holders from U.S. universities. It would apply to most new applicants, not only those applying from abroad, and replace an earlier $100,000 fee imposed by presidential proclamation in September 2025 that a federal court later struck down as an unlawful tax requiring congressional approval. 

The fee would be paid by employers on top of existing filing costs (typically $2,000–$5,000) and would not apply to renewals, cap-exempt petitions (such as many university or nonprofit research positions), or certain other categories. DHS indicated the revenue could support immigration enforcement activities. 

The proposal opens a 30-day public comment period and could be finalized later this year.

 This latest move continues the administration’s broader efforts to reform the H-1B program, which allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign professionals in specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor’s degree—primarily in technology, engineering, healthcare and related fields. The largest number of H1-B applicants are from India, followed by China. 

Other recent changes include enhanced vetting of applicants, a shift from a pure lottery to a wage-weighted selection process favoring higher-paid and higher-skilled workers (effective for the FY 2027 cycle), and additional fees on extensions or transfers. 

California remains the epicenter of H-1B employment. The state consistently leads the nation in Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) and petition activity, driven by Silicon Valley tech giants such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and others. 

In FY 2025, California recorded the highest number of approved H-1B petitions for initial employment (over 21,500) and has accounted for roughly 30 percent or more of national LCA positions in recent periods, with tens of thousands of certified filings annually and average offered wages often exceeding $160,000. 

Historical data show California peaking near or above 100,000 H-1B-related employees in prior years, though exact current headcounts of active visa holders fluctuate with extensions, transfers, and status changes.

Earlier this year, The Globe reported:

Two-thirds of Silicon Valley’s nearly 400,000 tech jobs are held by foreign-born workers. India-born employees account for 23 percent and China-born for 18 percent–together outnumbering U.S.-born workers at just 34 percent, according to a 2025 Joint Venture Silicon Valley report. 

This transformation extends to the C-suites. Major companies are now led by foreign-born executives: Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, Intel’s Lip-Bu Tan (Malaysian-born), YouTube’s Neal Mohan, and T-Mobile US’s Srinivas Gopalan — many from India. Silicon Valley, pioneered in American garages by Jobs, Hewlett, Packard, Noyce, and Moore, has gone global at the expense of domestic workers. 

Approximately 700,000 people live and work in the U.S. in H1-B status, according to a 2025 National Foundation for American Policy analysis.

Critics of the H-1B program, including administration officials, argue it has been abused to undercut American wages and displace U.S. workers, particularly in tech. Supporters contend it fills genuine skills gaps essential to innovation and economic growth, especially in high-cost states like California where demand for specialized talent remains strong.

President Trump relied on his authority under immigration law to limit entry by foreign nationals deemed harmful to U.S. interests when establishing the fee. Legal challenges have already been filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers; those existing lawsuits could be updated to contest the newly proposed rule after it is finalized.