H‑1B fee shock hits demand
The new $100,000 H‑1B filing fee tied to the administration’s policy has driven a sharp drop in applications and is even costing the U.S. government money — a change that will reshape employer‑sponsored hiring and green card planning reported.
A DHS court filing said the policy produced a nearly $20 million shortfall for the federal government, attributing the loss to a steep fall in overseas petition submissions. newsweek.com Institute for Progress fellow Connor O’Brien posted on X that 85 applicants have paid the surcharge so far, producing $8.5 million in receipts while fee revenue from overseas applications dropped by about $28 million. business-standard.com The D.C. Circuit has pressed judges to decide whether the charge is a tax or an exercise of presidential entry authority during recent oral argument, a legal question flagged by Bloomberg Law. news.bloomberglaw.com Businesses and universities are pressing new appellate arguments in the litigation, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling on tariff authority, according to Forbes. forbes.com Major employers including Amazon, Microsoft and Google have already shifted recruiting and immigration planning toward candidates based in the United States to avoid overseas consular filings, industry reporting shows. visaverge.com USCIS and legislative analyses note the surcharge applies only to certain new petitions filed after Sept. 20, 2025 and that DHS may grant targeted exemptions for national‑interest cases. congress.gov
