DHS proposes a $103,265 fee on cap H-1B petitions

The 2025 $100,000 H-1B charge is in legal trouble. A US appeals court in July 2026 said that presidential tax was illegal. Then Homeland Security tried a new path.

On 25 August 2026, DHS published a proposed rule. It would add $103,265 on top of normal H-1B filing fees. IEEE Spectrum reported on 12 September that tech firms are already hiring more people abroad. This is a news summary, not legal advice.

The $103,265 proposal

• It is a draft. Comments close on 24 September 2026. DHS must answer them before any final rule.
• Who would pay. Every cap lottery petition, including the extra 20,000 slots for a US master’s degree.
• It would hit people already in the US. The 2025 proclamation mostly targeted new filings from abroad. This draft is wider.
• Who would skip it. University, hospital, and other cap-exempt H-1B cases are left out of the draft.
• Why now. IEEE Spectrum says DHS collected the old $100,000 fee on only 85 qualifying cases through mid-February 2026. Employers walked away.

What did not change

• The yearly H-1B cap is still 85,000 for for-profit employers (65,000 plus 20,000 master’s slots).
• Normal USCIS and Labor Department filing fees still apply.
• The First Circuit ruling on the 2025 proclamation is not the same as this new draft.
• A Senate pause bill we covered in July is still just a bill.

If you are in the H-1B lottery

• Employers planning FY 2027 cap filings should watch the docket, not add $103,265 to today’s I-129 yet.
• F-1 students hoping to change status would face the new fee if the draft becomes final. That is a big shift from the old proclamation.
• People comparing Canada still have a different skilled-worker story. Start with Canada vs United States.

Useful links

1. Read the live draft on the Federal Register page.
2. Check our older notes: fee struck down and fee back during appeal.
3. Open the United States country page if you are weighing another base.

News summary only, not legal advice. Do not pay $103,265 unless a final rule says you must.