The Department of Homeland Security has posted a proposed rule that would charge employers $103,265 when they file certain new H-1B petitions. The fee would apply to cap-subject filings, including the advanced-degree exemption pool, and would sit on top of existing petition fees.
The document is on Federal Register public inspection for publication on August 25, 2026. After publication, the public gets a 30-day comment window before DHS can finalize anything. Nothing in the proposal is a live filing requirement yet.
- Proposed fee: $103,265 at filing for H-1B cap-subject petitions, including advanced-degree exemption cases.
- Who is outside the fee: Cap-exempt petitions, such as many higher-education and research organization filings, would not pay it.
- Status today: Proposed rule only. Publication is scheduled for August 25, 2026, followed by 30 days of public comment.
- Why it matters: Employers planning U.S. specialty-occupation hires face a six-figure cost if the rule is finalized.
- Docket: USCIS-2026-0298, RIN 1615-AD20, adding a separate fee line in 8 CFR 106.2.
What the DHS proposal actually says
In the public-inspection notice for document 2026-17324, DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services propose a standalone fee of $103,265 for all H-1B cap-subject petitions. That includes petitions that count against the regular annual cap and those that use the 20,000 advanced-degree exemption.
The fee would be due at filing and would be imposed in addition to other applicable fees or payments. DHS wants the charge as its own line at 8 CFR 106.2(a)(3)(xii) so the money can be tracked and shared across agencies that help run the lawful immigration system.
The rule is scheduled for Federal Register publication on August 25, 2026. Written comments would then be due 30 days after that publication date through regulations.gov under docket USCIS-2026-0298.
Who would pay, and who would not
The proposal targets cap-subject petitions. Cap-exempt H-1B filings would not owe the new fee. DHS specifically points to petitions that are not subject to the annual numerical limit, including examples covered by INA sections 214(g)(5) and (7).
In practical terms, many university, nonprofit research, and government research filings that already sit outside the H-1B lottery would stay outside this charge. Ordinary employer petitions that need a selected registration and count against the annual allocations would face the $103,265 add-on if the rule becomes final.
Reuters reporting on the same filing frames the proposal as an effort to turn a previously blocked six-figure H-1B payment into lasting regulation. Deep Arrival is treating Reuters as independent confirmation of the filing event, while load-bearing fee and exemption details come from the DHS text itself.
How this connects to the earlier $100,000 proclamation fight
Presidential Proclamation 10973 required a $100,000 payment with certain new H-1B petitions beginning in September 2025. A federal judge later vacated agency guidance implementing that payment, and DHS has said it is complying with the court while it pursues other paths.
The proposed rule acknowledges that the $103,265 figure is close to the proclamation amount, but it is drafted as a fee under DHS fee-setting authority rather than as a proclamation entry restriction. The proclamation itself, unless extended, is set to expire before this proposed fee would take effect.
Travelers and employers should keep those tracks separate. A court fight over the proclamation does not automatically decide the fate of this notice-and-comment fee rule, and a final fee rule would still need to survive its own process and any later challenges.
What changes for workers and business travelers now
Nothing changes at the filing window today. Cap registration, petition filing, and current USCIS fee schedules remain governed by existing rules until a final rule is published and effective.
The planning decision starts now anyway. Companies that expected to sponsor specialty-occupation workers for U.S. assignments in the next lottery cycle need to model a six-figure employer cost if DHS finalizes the proposal. That can change whether a role is posted abroad, delayed, converted to another status strategy, or abandoned.
Workers already weighing a move should ask employers whether sponsorship budgets assume the current fee schedule or the proposed add-on.
Once a status path is clear, use Deep Arrival’s airline travel guides hub for carrier fees, boarding rules, and route changes that affect the actual trip to the job site.
Money, comments, and what remains open
DHS presents the fee as an interagency cost-recovery tool. The proposal projects about $8.78 billion in annual revenue if volumes hold under its assumptions, with shares allocated across USCIS, ICE, CBP, EOIR, State, and Labor.
Those numbers are model outputs, not guarantees. DHS itself discusses fee elasticity and the chance that some employers, including smaller ones, may file fewer petitions if the charge becomes final.
Confirmed today: the $103,265 proposal exists on public inspection, targets cap-subject H-1B petitions, excludes cap-exempt filings described in the notice, and opens a 30-day comment period after August 25 publication. Still unknown: the final text, the effective date, litigation outcomes, and how employers will actually adapt hiring calendars.
Why travelers should care even before a final rule
H-1B timing is a travel calendar problem as much as a legal one. A selected registration still has to become a petition, an approval, and often a consular appointment or change-of-status decision before a worker can reliably plan a U.S. start date.
If employers freeze or renegotiate sponsorship because of the proposed fee, workers can lose the season they planned around. That is why Deep Arrival is covering the proposal now, while comments are still open and before anyone treats $103,265 as an invoice.
| If you are | What to do this week |
|---|---|
| An employer planning a cap-subject H-1B petition | Model the $103,265 add-on as a contingent cost and watch the August 25 publication plus comment deadline. |
| Filing a cap-exempt university or research petition | Confirm the petition remains outside the annual cap. The proposal says cap-exempt filings would not pay this fee. |
| A worker waiting on employer sponsorship | Ask whether the company budget assumes current fees only or the proposed six-figure charge. |
| Counsel preparing comments | Use docket USCIS-2026-0298 on regulations.gov within 30 days after Federal Register publication. |
| Traveling on a current valid H-1B | Do not treat this proposal as a change to your existing status or renewal rules. Recheck only if a final rule issues. |
Watch the August 25, 2026 Federal Register publication, the exact 30-day comment deadline that follows, and any final-rule effective date. Also watch court developments on the separate proclamation payment, which DHS treats as a related but distinct track.
The smart next move is calendar discipline, not panic booking. Read the DHS summary, confirm whether a planned petition is cap-subject, and wait for a final rule before treating $103,265 as money due.
Is the $103,265 H-1B fee in effect now?
No. DHS has posted a proposed rule for Federal Register publication on August 25, 2026. A 30-day comment period follows publication before any final rule.
Which H-1B petitions would owe the new DHS fee?
The proposal covers H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those in the advanced-degree exemption pool. Cap-exempt petitions would not pay it.
Would the fee replace other USCIS H-1B filing fees?
No. DHS describes $103,265 as an additional standalone fee on top of other applicable fees or payments.
How is this different from the $100,000 H-1B proclamation?
The proclamation was an entry restriction payment that courts have constrained. This notice is a separate proposed fee rule under DHS fee authority.
Where can the public comment?
Comments go through regulations.gov on docket USCIS-2026-0298 within 30 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register.
