H-1B Visas Now Cost $100,000. Here's Everything Else That Changed Too.

The most significant H-1B overhaul in over three decades, centered on one dramatic fee increase

On September 19, 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation titled "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," establishing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions, primarily targeting beneficiaries residing outside the United States or requiring consular processing. This represents a 1,500% to 5,800% increase over prior filing fees, which had typically ranged from roughly $1,700 to $4,500 depending on employer size and specific petition type, according to CSIS analysis. The fee took effect for petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025, and applies to the FY2026 lottery and beyond.

Notably, the fee is specifically tied to the presidential proclamation itself, which is set to expire in September 2026 absent further action, and multiple lawsuits, including one from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and another from a coalition of state attorneys general, are actively challenging it. As of the most recent tracking, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. upheld the fee, and the Chamber has filed an appeal, meaning the fee's ultimate legal fate remains genuinely unresolved even as it's currently being enforced.

A separate, structural change: moving from a random lottery to a wage-weighted one

Beyond the fee, DHS finalized a rule (effective February 27, 2026, in time for the March 2026 lottery cycle) fundamentally restructuring how H-1B recipients are actually selected. Instead of the previous simple random lottery, where every registration had an equal chance, the new system weights entries by prevailing wage level: Level IV (the highest wage tier) receives four lottery entries, Level III receives three, Level II receives two, and Level I (the lowest wage tier) receives just one.

Lower-wage applicants remain technically eligible, they're not excluded entirely, but their relative odds of selection are now substantially reduced compared to higher-wage applicants. CSIS estimates this reallocates roughly 10,000 low-wage H-1B approvals annually toward higher-wage categories, without changing the statutory total cap of 85,000 new visas per year (65,000 under the regular cap, plus 20,000 reserved specifically for candidates with a U.S. master's degree or higher).

The debate over the new system split even within the formal public comment process itself

• During DHS's mandatory 30-day public comment period on the new lottery rule, some commenters supported it as creating a more merit-based system offering greater protection for American workers and more selection transparency
• Other commenters specifically warned the changes create a "pay-to-play" dynamic that favors well-funded, larger petitioning companies while disadvantaging early-career professionals and smaller businesses that may not be able to offer top-tier wages
• DHS's own stated response was that the changes are specifically intended to prevent the bulk of H-1B visas going to lower-wage positions, framing the reform as targeting program "abuse" rather than restricting the program's core function
• Many employers are reportedly responding strategically by prioritizing H-1B change-of-status petitions for candidates already inside the U.S. (who are generally exempt from the new $100,000 fee) over new consular-processed petitions for candidates abroad, a workaround the fee's own design appears to have created

A specific structural quirk gives some applicants two real chances in a single lottery cycle

Candidates holding a qualifying U.S. master's degree or higher are first entered into the smaller 20,000-visa "master's cap" pool; if not selected there, the exact same registration is then automatically entered into the larger 65,000-visa regular cap pool as well. This gives holders of U.S. graduate degrees genuinely two separate selection opportunities within one lottery cycle, a real, structural advantage over candidates with only a bachelor's degree, who get just one chance.

The core disagreement

Supporters of the fee and lottery changes generally argue the H-1B program had been used by some employers to source lower-cost labor rather than genuinely scarce specialized skills, and that a wage-weighted system and substantial fee better target the program toward its intended purpose of filling roles requiring specialized expertise that would otherwise go unfilled domestically. Critics, including major business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce actively suing over the fee, generally argue the changes impose a genuinely prohibitive cost barrier that will particularly harm smaller companies and startups, potentially pushing skilled positions and the economic activity around them offshore rather than protecting domestic workers, echoing CSIS's own warning that the reforms could "accelerate offshoring" rather than prevent it. Both sides broadly agree this represents the most substantial change to H-1B allocation in over 30 years, the genuine disagreement is over whether it corrects a real, longstanding problem with the program or creates a new one.