Trump administration slated to set $103,000 fee for temporary worker visas

President Donald Trump and his administration are planning to implement an expansive new fee for foreign work visas in a bid to protect American workers. In a proposed rule published Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed plans to establish a $103,265 fee for H-1B visas, commonly used by U.S.-based employers to hire foreign nationals, often at significantly lower wages than an American worker would receive.

The proposed new fee would be applicable to all H-1B workers, including those applying from within the U.S. and those who hold master’s degrees. Last year, Trump imposed a similar six-figure fee on H-1B visas, targeting those applying from abroad, but the policy was halted in June by a federal judge. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is currently reviewing that decision.

The new policy, designed to stand up to judicial review, clarifies that the fee “would serve as a dedicated revenue mechanism to help recover a portion of the federal government’s costs of administering the lawful immigration system, including activities carried out by DHS, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).”

Prior to Trump’s executive proclamation last year, H-1B visas typically carried a fee ranging from $2,000 to $5,000, to be paid by the prospective employer. The fees halted in June would have applied to foreign workers applying from abroad, while the new permanent rule proposed by DHS would apply to H-1B workers irrespective of whether or not they are in the U.S. already and would also apply to foreign students seeking to transition into full-time jobs in the U.S. Again, the fees would be paid by the prospective employers.

In a social media post touting the move, Vice President JD Vance asserted that the policy will benefit American workers and American families. 

“If an American corporation needs workers,” he said, “it should hire and train Americans.”

Lora Ries, director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation, agreed, telling Zeale News that the new fee will likely deter U.S.-based corporations from preferring foreign workers over American workers.

“H-1B visas are supposed to be for foreign workers with specialized knowledge when an employer cannot find an American employee. Many employers have exploited H-1B visas for 30 years to pay foreign workers lower wages while shutting out American employees,” Ries said. “This proposed H-1B fee should prevent some of this type of fraud and open up job opportunities for Americans. Hire American.”

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Zeale News that she expects the proposed fee to “improve” the current legal immigration system. “Most obviously, it will make the visa much, much more expensive, and that will help ensure that these workers are valuable to the employers as skilled labor rather than cheap labor,” she explained. “The theory is that it will be harder, or at least more expensive, to try to game the system to bring in workers that will replace or displace Americans.”

The fee will also fund operations such as worksite inspections, fraud investigation, background checks and more, Vaughan said. “This is important because there has long been rampant fraud in this visa category, including fake businesses, misrepresentation of wages and skills, and especially credential fraud among workers such as fake degrees and misrepresented skills and experience,” she observed. “This change, together with several other policy changes under Trump, will help tamp down the abuse of this category.”

Vaughan concluded, “Americans want U.S. companies to have access to global talent, but they don't want companies to manipulate the work visas to bring in cheaper, ordinary workers who undercut and displace Americans, and they definitely don't want fraud in these programs.”

The Trump administration is also reportedly considering imposing a similar fee on the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which allows foreign students to easily roll over from their student visas to U.S. work visas. Ries anticipated that such a move would further benefit American workers, especially young workers and college graduates.

“OPT was administratively — not congressionally — created and expanded to bridge foreign students from their temporary ‘F’ student visa to an H-1B visa rather than require the student to return home upon graduation, as required for a temporary student visa,” explained Ries. “OPT shuts out American grads from obtaining their first job. Young Americans are aware of — and angry about — this unfair competition, and they vote.”