USCIS proposes $103,265 fee on H-1B cap-subject petitions

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a new $103,265 fee on all H-1B cap-subject petitions, payable at the time of filing, to recover a portion of the federal government’s costs of administering the lawful immigration system. The proposal, published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Federal Register of August 25, 2026, is open for public comment until September 24, 2026.

The rule appears in Federal Register Vol. 91, No. 163, under the Proposed Rules section (FR Doc. 2026-17324), with DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0298 and RIN 1615-AD20. It would add the fee at 8 CFR 106.2(a)(3)(xii), applying only to H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption under section 214(g)(5)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

A dedicated revenue mechanism

DHS frames the fee as a “powerful, reliable, and predictable revenue tool” to cover interagency costs of immigration adjudication and naturalization. The revenue would reimburse costs across several agencies:

• USCIS — adjudications, systems modernization, fraud detection and national security vetting;
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — inspection and enforcement activities;
• Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) — immigration court proceedings;
• U.S. Department of State (DOS) — consular visa processing;
• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) — labor standards enforcement.

The fee is calculated by dividing the total costs to be recovered of $8,777,488,035 by the projected fee-paying volume of 85,000, yielding $103,264.57, which DHS rounds to the nearest $5 increment for a final figure of $103,265.

Legal authority and relationship to other fees

DHS grounds the rule in sections 286(j) and (m) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1356(j) and (m)), which authorize the Secretary to set fees for adjudication and naturalization services at a level ensuring full cost recovery, and in the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The proposed fee would be a separate, additional charge imposed on top of all other applicable fees or payments.

Notably, it would be distinct from the $100,000 payment required by Presidential Proclamation 10973 for certain H-1B petitions filed between September 21, 2025 and September 21, 2026. DHS notes that a federal district court vacated the guidance implementing that payment in June 2026, and an appeal is pending before the First Circuit; if the order is later lifted, DHS would collect the Proclamation payment as well.

Ability-to-pay rationale and expected impact

DHS says it chose to shift these costs to H-1B cap-subject petitioners rather than raising fees broadly across all applicants, reasoning that employers sponsoring skilled foreign workers generally have the resources to pay and that the fee is not significant compared to the required wage obligation. The agency acknowledges the scope of the increase is significant and that some employers, including small entities, may file fewer petitions as a result.

Comments must be submitted in English through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov, referencing DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0298. USCIS is not accepting mailed or hand-delivered comments at this time.

For employers that rely on the H-1B program to hire skilled foreign workers, the proposal would add a substantial per-petition cost on top of existing fees, potentially reshaping hiring decisions and the cost of accessing the annual cap. The outcome of the comment period and the pending litigation over Proclamation 10973 will determine whether the fee takes effect as proposed.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 163, August 25, 2026, Proposed Rules, p. 54817 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026-17324; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0298; RIN 1615-AD20).