Overview
- The Department of Homeland Security finalized the rule on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, and it becomes effective Sept. 9, 2026.
- Under the rule, covered employers must pay $4,000 for each qualifying H‑1B extension petition and $4,500 for each qualifying L‑1 extension petition.
- The charge applies only to employers with at least 50 U.S. employees where more than half the U.S. workforce holds H‑1B or L‑1 status, and the law assigns payment responsibility to employers rather than workers.
- DHS said it corrected a prior statutory reading from 2015 after collections fell from $158 million in FY2016 to $25.6 million in FY2025 and estimated roughly $37.9 million in additional receipts for FY2026 and $40 million for FY2027.
- Industry groups warned higher recurring costs could push firms to rethink retention or hiring of foreign professionals and hurt workers waiting for green cards, but DHS rejected those concerns as limited by the employer threshold and small relative to overall labor costs.