By: Richard Hanus, Esq.
June 22, 2026
The $100,000 H-1B work visa fee. The federal statute and regulations governing the issuance of H-1B work visas to professional foreign nationals include a long list of requirements and limitations. Included are provisions dictating what kind of jobs are appropriate for visa sponsorship, how many visas can be issued each year and how employers must go about meeting the “prevailing wage” requirement. Although payment of a legally mandated filing fee in the $2,000.00 – $6,500.00 range is currently a component of most H-1B filings (depending on company size and if expedited processing is sought), the Trump Administration, unilaterally and without congressional approval, decided to radically change that law by imposing an additional $100,000.00 filing fee. Legal challenges in federal courts across the U.S. ensued, such as a lawsuit brought by a coalition of states, including the State of California. That lawsuit led a federal judge to rule earlier this month that the Administration lacked authority to impose this measure and that the $100,000 fee constituted an illegal tax that should be kept from being implemented. The Administration has appealed the measure to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement following the recent ruling, praised the court’s action, calling out the fee as “an attack on America’s ability to attract and retain the high-skilled talent that strengthens our economy and helps us meet critical workforce needs.”
In contrast, a federal court in the District of Columbia recently reached the opposite conclusion, ruling that the Administration was within its powers to impose the fee and as part of its Executive Branch authority to limit the entry of noncitizens into the U.S. That decision is also on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals.
As background, the $100,000 fee, according to the Administration, was needed in order to guard against alleged abuses of the H-1B visa program and protect American workers supposedly at risk of being displaced by foreign workers, particularly in the fields of science and technology. This executive action went into effect on September 21, 2026 and only impacts prospective filings. Further the $100K fee only applies to foreign nationals outside the U.S. and not those lawfully present here on a temporary visa (e.g. F-1 student) seeking a change of status.
The 39 Nation Immigration Filing Pause: Starting in December, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (“US DHS/CIS”), in the name of “national security”, implemented a series of executive initiatives resulting in an indefinite hold on decision-making and document issuance for various immigration filings for applicants from 39 foreign countries. The applications were for work permits, asylum, green cards, naturalization and other immigration benefits. These countries were already the subject of a travel ban, where citizens of these nations were already restricted from entry in the U.S.
On June 5, 2026, a federal court in Rhode Island ruled that US DHS/CIS’ actions to freeze processing on these referenced immigration related applications was illegal and should be set aside.
The court found that US DHS/CIS actions constituted executive branch overreach and a misuse of “national security” concerns to justify an overbroad policy, stating “(t)hese unlawful policies caused enormous harm to families, workers, asylum seekers, and communities across the country who were left in limbo, unable to work, access protections, or move forward with their lives.”
The recent federal court ruling declaring the 39 country processing pause illegal has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit and the nation will have to wait for an appeals court ruling before any change to the current status quo takes place.
As a reminder the ban that is the subject of this court ruling are for applicants from Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Cote d ‘Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Palestinian Authority, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Updates on these court challenges and the latest immigration news can be found at Richard’s Blog. To sign up to receive the latest U.S. immigration related news, visit https://www.usavisacounsel.com/newsletter.