Trump Extends Push for $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee by Another Year as Courts Weigh Legality
President Donald Trump has extended by one year an executive order that seeks to impose a fee of $100,000 on H-1B non-immigrant visas, the White House said on Friday.
The H-1B programme lets American employers hire skilled foreign workers, allowing technology and other professionals from abroad to work in the United States for a few years. Employers currently pay between $2,000 and $5,000 for the visa.
Mr. Trump, who has taken a hard line on immigration, has criticised the programme and wants the fee raised permanently to at least $100,000. That attempt has run into legal challenges.
A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing a June decision by a federal judge who held that the higher fee imposed by the administration was illegal and blocked the government from collecting it. A separate court is considering whether a judge properly rejected a challenge to the fee brought by the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying group in the country.
The initial order for the fee increase, first released in September 2025, was due to expire this month. It did not apply to visas granted to foreign citizens already in the United States on student visas — a group that accounts for a large share of new H-1B recipients — nor to renewals of existing visas.
The extension keeps the measure alive on paper while the appeals proceed, but it does not by itself allow the government to collect the higher amount where courts have barred it.
Critics say some companies use the visas to hire lower-paid foreign workers instead of Americans. Business groups and companies counter that the programme helps them recruit highly skilled professionals and addresses a shortage of qualified American workers in certain industries.
The H-1B visa was established by Congress in 1990. It is especially important to technology companies seeking to recruit talent from India and China.
Changes to how potential visa holders are scrutinised and processed have affected companies' hiring and expansion plans. Some of the largest users of the programme, including Google's parent company Alphabet, have moved to increase their operations in India.
The dispute now rests largely with the courts. Until the appeals are decided, the question of whether employers must pay $100,000 — or the earlier, far lower amount — remains unresolved.
