New $100,000 Fee for H-1B Visa Petitions Takes Effect September 21, 2025

What Changed

On September 19, 2025, the President issued a Presidential Proclamation: Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, imposing a $100,000 supplemental fee on certain new H-1B visa petitions. The fee applies to petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025.

Specifically, the fee applies to new H-1B petitions for beneficiaries who are:

Outside the United States without a valid H-1B visa at the time of filing, or
Subject to petitions requesting consular processing, port-of-entry notification, or preflight inspection.

The $100,000 fee is paid through the U.S. Treasury's pay.gov portal and is in addition to all existing USCIS filing fees.

Who Is Affected

Employers sponsoring new H-1B workers from abroad are the primary affected group. Specifically:

Any employer filing a new H-1B petition on or after September 21, 2025 for a worker who is not currently in the United States in valid H-1B status.
Startups and smaller businesses are disproportionately impacted, as the flat $100,000 fee represents a significantly larger burden relative to their budgets.

Who is NOT affected:

Employers filing extensions or renewals for current H-1B employees already in the United States.
Employees who already hold valid H-1B visas.
Petitions that were filed before 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025, regardless of when they are adjudicated.
Employers filing change of status petitions for workers already present in the U.S. in another valid nonimmigrant status.

Where It Applies

This is a federal action applying to all H-1B visa petitions filed with USCIS nationwide. The fee obligation falls on the petitioning employer, regardless of where the employer or the prospective employee is located.

When It Takes Effect

The proclamation was signed on September 19, 2025 and the fee requirement took effect on September 21, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. EDT. There is no phase-in period or grace period — any new H-1B petition filed on or after that date and time for an eligible beneficiary must include the $100,000 payment.

National interest waiver: The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the fee for individual aliens, all aliens working for a specific company, or all aliens working in a specific industry, if hiring such workers is determined to be in the national interest and does not pose a threat to U.S. security or welfare. However, USCIS has characterized these exceptions as "extraordinarily rare" and requires employers to submit a request via a dedicated DHS email address before filing.

Legal challenges: Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging the proclamation, including a suit by twenty U.S. states. As of the date of this article, the fee remains in effect pending judicial review.

Why It Matters

The $100,000 fee represents a dramatic increase in the cost of sponsoring new H-1B workers from abroad. Prior to this proclamation, total filing fees for an H-1B petition typically ranged from approximately $2,000 to $10,000 depending on employer size and premium processing elections. The new fee effectively multiplies the cost of a new H-1B sponsorship by a factor of 10 or more.

For employers that rely on H-1B sponsorship as part of their talent acquisition strategy — particularly in technology, engineering, healthcare, and academia — this change forces an immediate reassessment of hiring budgets and sponsorship policies. The fee does not apply to renewals, which creates a strong incentive to retain existing H-1B employees rather than sponsor new hires.

The ongoing legal challenges introduce uncertainty. Employers should track court rulings closely, as an injunction could pause or modify the fee requirement.

The Humareso Take

This is a seismic shift for any employer that sponsors foreign workers. The $100,000 price tag is not just a fee increase — it fundamentally changes the cost-benefit calculation of H-1B sponsorship, particularly for small and mid-sized employers. If you are currently planning to sponsor new H-1B workers, we recommend an immediate budget review and a conversation about alternative visa categories or domestic recruitment strategies. The good news: renewals and extensions are not affected, so your existing H-1B workforce is protected. The legal challenges add a wildcard, but we would not advise waiting on those outcomes to plan.

Recommended Action Steps

Review your current and planned H-1B sponsorship pipeline to identify any petitions that will be subject to the $100,000 fee.
Update your immigration sponsorship budget to account for the new fee on any new H-1B petitions for workers abroad.
Evaluate alternative visa categories (L-1, O-1, TN, E-2) that may achieve your hiring goals without triggering the supplemental fee.
Prioritize retention of existing H-1B employees, as renewals and extensions are exempt from the new fee.
Monitor ongoing litigation — multiple legal challenges are pending, and a court order could modify or suspend the fee requirement.
Contact your Humareso representative to discuss your immigration sponsorship strategy and explore cost-effective alternatives for international talent acquisition.