US Homeland Security Proposes $103,265 Fee for H-1B Visa Petitions

The US Department of Homeland Security published a notice of proposed rulemaking on August 25, 2026, to introduce a new $103,265 fee for every H-1B cap-subject petition. The proposal aims to generate funds across federal agencies.

DHS filed the proposal under docket USCIS-2026-0298 on August 24, 2026. The standalone charge would be codified at 8 CFR 106.2(a)(3)(xii), marking the largest fee ever proposed on an immigration benefit request.

The $103,265 cost applies to standard cap petitions and the 20,000 advanced degree exemption pool. It does not apply to cap-exempt petitions from higher education institutions, affiliated nonprofits, or governmental research organizations.

Employers must pay the fee alongside existing costs, including the base I-129 fee, ACWIA fee, fraud prevention fee, and Asylum Program Fee. DHS derived the figure by dividing an $8.77 billion cost target by an estimated 85,000 annual cap petitions.

Rather than solely funding USCIS, the revenue would be split among six agencies across three cabinet departments. USCIS would receive 34.2 percent, the Executive Office for Immigration Review would take 33.7 percent, and the Department of Labor would receive 13.8 percent.

The remaining funds would go to Immigration and Customs Enforcement at 11.9 percent, the Department of State at 5.5 percent, and Customs and Border Protection at 0.9 percent. The allocation covers border security, visa vetting systems, and immigration court operations.

DHS justified the proposal under INA 286(m) authority to recover full adjudication costs and noted that H-1B petitioners possess a strong ability to pay. The agency set a public comment period closing on September 24, 2026.