Rules would codify for H-1B worker visas
By: Daniel Wiessner
Reuters
..... The Trump administration on August 24 [2026] released a proposed regulation to codify an unprecedented fee of more than $100,000 on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers that Trump first imposed last year [2025] but has been blocked by the courts.
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The fee first imposed by President Donald Trump in a temporary proclamation last year [2025] vastly raises the cost of the visas, which are heavily used in the tech, education and research sector.
..... A federal judge in June [2026] ruled that the fee was illegal and blocked the Trump administration from collecting it. A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing that discussion while a different court considers whether a judge in Washington properly rejected a challenged to the fee by a major business group.
..... Trump's 2025 proclamation imposing the fee expires in September, [2026] one year after it was issued, but directed the Department of Homeland Security to adopt regulations making it permanent. the prosed $103,356 fee by DHS, posted Online in the Federal Register on August 24 [2026] to be formally published the following day kicks off a 30-day public comment period.
..... The rule could be finalized by the end of the year. [2026]
.... The H1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty fields and offers 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years. The order Trump issued last year [2025] increasing the cost of obtaining some H-1B visas, which typically come without $2,000 to $5,00 ion fees, depending on various factors.
..... Trump, a Republican and other critics of the H-1B program says it is abused by many companies replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. But business groups and many individuals companies have said the visa program is needed address a lack of qualified American workers for some jobs and to allow U.S. businesses to recruit top talent. About 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee on a total of 85 visa applications as of late February, [2026] according to court filings.
..... In imposing the fee, Trump invoked the president's power under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals who would be detrimental to U.S. interests. The fee is being challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobbying group. Democratic-led states and a coalition of unions and employers. Those lawsuits could be amended to challenge the rule proposed this week [08/24/2026] once it is finalized.
..... The lawsuit allege that Trump's power to restrict entry does not allow him to override th4e law that created the H-1B visa program. The states and groups that sued also say that DHS cannot impose fees, taxes or other mens to generate revenue for the United States without permission from Congress.
..... The
Trump administration has maintained that the fee is not a traditional tax and that courts have little power to question the president's authority to restrict entry into the country.