The $100,000 H-1B fee: where it stands now

Juan Molina ·

Two federal courts have blocked the H-1B fee, but the government still intends to collect it if those orders are lifted. What that means for a senior hire you plan to sponsor.

Imagine you have found the senior engineer you want, outside the US, and the plan is to bring them in on an H-1B visa. A year ago a single proclamation added a $100,000 payment to that plan (USCIS H-1B FAQ). Today the payment is blocked by two courts, and nobody can tell you for certain whether it will come back. That uncertainty is the planning problem.

How the fee got here

The fee comes from a presidential proclamation dated September 19, 2025, which applies to certain H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025, according to the USCIS H-1B FAQ. USCIS says a federal court in Massachusetts vacated its guidance on the fee on June 8, 2026, and that the First Circuit denied a stay of that order on July 24, 2026. USCIS also says that, if the order is lifted, it intends to collect the payment (USCIS H-1B FAQ).

A second court has since acted. Vanderbilt's international office reported on October 22, 2026 that a federal court in California issued a new order blocking USCIS, CBP and the State Department from implementing the $100,000 fee. It also noted that a proposed $103,265 fee tied to the cap is not in effect (Vanderbilt ISSS, October 22, 2026).

The proclamation itself has been extended. Samper Law wrote on October 7, 2026 that Proclamation 11069 now runs through September 21, 2027 (Samper Law, October 7, 2026). So the policy is alive, and its enforcement is blocked.

What this means for a sponsored senior hire

The practical reading is that you cannot plan on the fee being gone, and you cannot plan on it being due. Court orders can be narrowed, stayed or reversed on appeal. Samper Law describes a change of status inside the US as the more conservative path where it is available and suggests modeling several scenarios rather than one (Samper Law, October 7, 2026).

For a hiring leader, I would separate two questions. First: does this person need to be in the US to do the job? Many senior engineering and leadership roles can be done well from a nearby time zone, and if so, the visa question may not need to be on the critical path at all. Second: if they do need to be in the US, what is your plan if the fee applies on the day you file?

The decision is not whether the fee is fair. It is whether your hiring plan still works under each outcome. A plan that only works if the courts rule one way is a bet, not a plan.

Questions to put to your immigration counsel

  • Does the petition you plan to file fall within the categories the proclamation covers?
  • Is a change of status available for this candidate, and would it change the fee exposure?
  • Which court orders apply to your filing, and what happens if one is lifted while the petition is pending?
  • What is the cost and timing under each scenario, written down before the offer goes out?

These are questions for a licensed immigration lawyer. This article is not legal advice; it is a way to make sure the hiring plan is not built on a single assumption.

What to do this week

  • List any open roles where your plan assumes H-1B sponsorship from abroad.
  • For each role, decide whether the job truly requires presence in the US.
  • Ask counsel for a written scenario comparison: fee blocked, fee reinstated, change of status.
  • Build the offer budget for the worst scenario, so a court ruling does not force you to withdraw an offer.
  • Check the USCIS FAQ again before filing, since it is updated as the litigation moves.