Court Blocks $100,000 Visa Fee; Administration Returns With A $103,265 Visa Fee

WASHINGTON—Two months after a federal judge struck down the administration’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, the Department of Homeland Security has proposed a permanent replacement fee of $103,265.

The proposed charge would apply to every petition subject to the annual H-1B cap, including the advanced-degree allotment, and would come on top of the program’s existing fees. Employers previously paid several thousand dollars for most applications. Under the new schedule, the government would collect enough from one petition to cover the old application and, depending on the applicant, a modest undergraduate education.

The first fee was imposed by presidential proclamation. In June, a federal judge ruled that it amounted to a tax Congress had not authorized the executive branch to collect. The replacement arrives as a formal agency regulation and describes the money as cost recovery for the lawful immigration system, including work performed by Homeland Security, Justice, State, and Labor. The policy has returned through a different door and brought an invoice for the trip.

The revised figure is $3,265 higher than the one the court rejected. That extra precision gives the original round number the useful appearance of having been itemized. It also expands the charge to petitions the temporary policy did not cover, turning a legal setback into an opportunity to make the fee both more exact and more complete.

The public will have 30 days to comment before the rule can move toward approval. Employers may explain during that period whether a visa that used to cost several thousand dollars should cost $103,265. The department will then review the comments and determine whether $103,265 remains the correct answer.