The Trump administration has renewed the $100,000 payment that US employers attach to each new H-1B visa petition, extending the measure for another year, according to Reuters.

The annual renewal carries forward a policy first introduced by presidential proclamation in September 2025. The original order covered H-1B petitions filed for fiscal year 2026. The new extension applies the $100,000 payment to new petitions filed for fiscal year 2027, which begins on October 1, 2026.

How the payment works

The $100,000 figure is structured as a payment to the US Department of Homeland Security, not as a refundable filing fee. It sits on top of the regular H-1B filing charges, which already include:

• A $1,710 base filing fee for new petitions
• A $500 fraud-prevention and detection fee for most initial petitions
• A $2,000 American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act fee for employers with 50 or more employees, where more than half of staff hold H-1B or L-1 status
• A $600 Asylum Program Fee added to most employment-based petitions
• Premium-processing fees of $2,805 for 15-day turnaround, where requested

The administration framed the $100,000 payment as a tool to deter what it calls abuse of the annual H-1B lottery and to push employers toward higher-paid, higher-skilled applicants.

Who pays

US employers file the $100,000 payment when they submit an H-1B petition. Workers do not pay $100,000 themselves.

For employers, the $100,000 payment applies to:

• New cap-subject H-1B petitions selected in the lottery
• Petitions filed to change a worker's employer
• New petitions for workers currently outside the United States

H-1B holders already in the United States in valid status do not trigger a new $100,000 payment for routine travel re-entry. Extensions and changes of employer do trigger the payment.

Who is excluded

Several categories fall outside the $100,000 payment scope, including:

• Petitions for certain non-profit and government research organizations that hold existing cap exemptions
• Amendments that do not require a new slot in the lottery
• Petitions extending the stay of an H-1B holder where the underlying employment and employer remain unchanged

Spouses and children of H-1B holders travel on H-4 visas. They are not separately charged the $100,000 payment, and their status remains tied to the principal H-1B holder.

How the H-1B programme fits together

Congress sets the H-1B cap at 65,000 visas per fiscal year, plus 20,000 additional visas for foreign professionals with a US master's degree or higher. USCIS runs the lottery through the electronic registration system each March. Selected registrants then file full petitions inside a 90-day window.

For fiscal year 2025, USCIS received about 470,000 electronic registrations and selected roughly 85,000 beneficiaries. That gap shows the volume that any per-petition payment must absorb.

How to verify the official record

The annual extension is published as a presidential proclamation in the Federal Register. Readers should consult the latest proclamation text and the USCIS H-1B page for current effective dates, payment instructions, and exemptions before filing any petition.

USCIS can reject or deny petitions that lack a required $100,000 payment. Employers should confirm the mechanics with immigration counsel before the filing window opens.