New Delhi, 25 August 2026: The US Department of Homeland Security has proposed a new fee of $103,265 for all H-1B visa applications, on top of the existing fee. According to the department's press release, this proposed fee will be collected at the time of filing the application. The Department estimates that this fee will generate approximately $8.8 billion annually, based on an estimated 85,000 H-1B visa applications.

The department said this revenue will help offset the federal government's costs associated with adjudicating immigration benefits, conducting fraud investigations and national security investigations, modernizing systems, records and fee collection operations, administering immigration courts, processing professional visas, enforcing labor standards, and coordinating between agencies.

According to the notification, this additional fee will not apply to H-1B visa applications that are exempt from the cap. This includes applications made by certain non-profit research institutions, government research institutions, and institutions of higher education.

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