On Sept. 19, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing on employers an additional $100,000 application fee pertaining to petitions for foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States on H-1B (specialty occupation) visas. The following day, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and US Customs and Border Protection issued a memorandum clarifying that the fee applies to foreign nationals for whom an H-1B petition was filed after Sept. 21, 2025. Thus, it does not apply to current H-1B holders or pending H-1B applications. Previously, it cost employers between $2,000 and $5,000 per H-1B petition, depending on the size of the employer. The new $100,000 fee is a "one time" fee, meaning that it will be imposed only on the employer that submits a new H-1B application. This fee is in addition to the other preexisting fees that pertain to filing H-1B petitions. 

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