The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a new $103,265 fee for foreign workers seeking sponsorship under the H-1B visa programme.
According to a notice published in the Federal Register on Monday, the proposed fee would apply to H-1B applications covered by the annual quota of 65,000 regular visas, as well as the additional 20,000 visas reserved for applicants with advanced degrees from US institutions.
Employers would be required to pay the proposed charge when submitting an H-1B petition. The fee would be in addition to existing application fees and other applicable charges.
If approved, the proposal would significantly increase the financial burden on employers seeking to recruit skilled foreign workers through the H-1B programme.
The proposal comes after a federal district court in June struck down an earlier $100,000 H-1B fee introduced under President Donald Trump’s administration.
H-1B visas, which currently attract approximately $1,500 in administrative fees for employers, are generally valid for between three and six years.
“If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last year when the policy was introduced.
The H-1B visa programme has remained a major point of contention between the Trump administration and the US technology industry, which depends heavily on foreign professionals, including Nigerian workers.
US government data indicates that about two-thirds of H-1B positions are in computer-related fields. The visa programme is also used to employ engineers, educators and healthcare professionals.
The latest proposal represents another effort by the Trump administration to restrict legal immigration into the United States and increase the cost of employing foreign workers.