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This past weekend, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation stating that H-1B visas—temporary visas allowing U.S. employers to hire foreign workers, including international students—would now come with a $100,000 price tag. That is, any company wishing to sponsor a foreign worker under the visa program would now have to fork over a hundred grand instead of somewhere between $1,700 and $4,500.
Understandably, the significantly higher fee sent sponsoring employers and the international student community into a tailspin. In fact, immigration attorney LaToya McBean Pompy told the Wall Street Journal that “the proclamation was very direct, very strong, and very scary for a lot of employers … and certainly the visa holders who were completely blindsided by this proclamation.”
Since the new fee went into effect on Sunday, the tailspin has slowed, but there’s still quite a bit of confusion surrounding what’s arguably the biggest change to the H-1B visa system in its 35-year history. So, to help students understand the effects of the new fee, here are some answers to some commonly asked questions.
Who has to pay the $100,000 fee? And who exactly does it affect?
The one-time fee will be paid by organizations wanting to hire foreign employees (international students included) under the H-1B system. The fee will only apply to organizations filing new H-1B petitions, not to organizations who currently employ workers with existing H-1Bs. And as it stands now, it seems that the new fee only affects organizations seeking to hire H-1B workers from overseas and bring them to work in the U.S. Organizations looking to hire international students making an "in-country" transition to the H-1B would not be affected.
Will this mean it’ll be harder to for international students to get an H-1B?
Maybe, but it’s still unclear. It will mean that it’ll be more expensive for an employer to hire H-1B workers. However, employers might still choose to do so (and pay the fee). Most observers believe the new fee will likely reduce the incentive for employers to hire international students, with smaller firms (such as startups) finding it much harder to justify paying the fee than larger firms with deeper pockets.
That said, some of the biggest users of the H-1B system now are deep-pocketed firms such Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Google, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart. And according to Bill Ong Hing, a law professor at the University of San Francisco, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, companies like these might choose to offshore jobs instead of pay the fees. He explains, “It's very possible that the companies will say, 'Well, you know what? Maybe these jobs can be done abroad.’” And if that happens, in addition to fewer visa petitions, some economists say that the U.S. economy could be negatively affected.
What should international students hoping to win an H-1B in the 2026 lottery be doing now?
According to Marcelo Barros, an international student expert and founder of The International Advantage, “International students who want to join the H-1B lottery in 2026 should continue to try to build up their profiles with value that U.S. employers can’t easily find in American workers. That’s still the path to success for international students, and that’s what I’ll continue to teach international students to do this fall as I visit universities across the U.S.”
Barros also recommends students to “Breathe!” He adds, “It’s easy to overreact and come to the wrong conclusions. It’s easy to get distracted, feel discouraged, and even attacked. But as far as the new $100K H-1B fee is concerned, it seems that the proclamation language is focused on ‘aliens who are currently outside the United States.’ So, essentially, U.S. employers who may want to hire international students looking to transition from F-1 to H-1B, for example, would not get hit with this new $100K fee.”
What about international students who have their H-1Bs—what should they be doing now?
Again, here’s Barros’ recommendations: “Depending on the profile of the H-1B holder and other factors such as nationality, I think that a conversation with an immigration attorney might be appropriate to try to identify possible paths that would lead to a green card sooner versus later." This echoes what LaToya McBean Pompy told the Wall Street Journal: “[Students] should certainly speak with an immigration attorney to have a look at their background and qualifications.”
A final note
Keep in mind that this proclamation might still be evolving. In fact, it's currently receiving some serious pushback from some of the biggest swinging CEOs on Wall Street (who hold some serious sway in D.C.). Of course, it’s also always a good idea to keep in contact with your career center office for additional information. And certainly check back here at Vault, as we'll continue to follow this development and update you with anything else of importance.
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