Trump Revives H-1B Visa Fee at $103,265
- The Trump administration plans to publish a Federal Register proposal imposing a $103,265 fee on H-1B visa applications for highly skilled foreign workers.
- A federal court struck down a similar Trump H-1B fee proposal in June, making this the administration's second attempt to implement such a charge.
- The proposal has not yet taken effect and its legal durability remains uncertain given the prior court defeat.
The Trump administration is pressing ahead with a second attempt to impose a steep fee on H-1B visas for highly qualified foreign professionals, proposing a charge of $103,265 per application in a notice set to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.
A revised bid after a court defeat
The move represents a renewed effort by the administration following a federal court's rejection of a comparable fee structure in June. That earlier plan was struck down by a federal judge, yet the White House has returned with a revised proposal at a marginally higher sum. The proposal is at the application stage and has not yet taken effect.
Implications for foreign skilled workers
Were the fee to survive legal scrutiny, it would mark a substantial financial barrier for employers and foreign nationals seeking H-1B status — a visa category widely used by technology firms and other industries to recruit professionals from abroad. The fate of the earlier attempt illustrates the legal vulnerability of such measures; federal courts have previously moved to block sweeping Trump visa restrictions, and legal challenges to the administration's visa policies have mounted across multiple categories. Whether this revised proposal will withstand a fresh legal challenge remains unresolved.
