Overview
- President Trump used his Labour Day proclamation on Monday to publicly endorse the DHS proposal, putting the six‑figure charge at the center of his message about prioritising American workers.
- The rulemaking posted by DHS would require employers to pay $103,265 when filing H‑1B petitions that count against the 85,000 annual cap and would not apply to cap‑exempt university or research petitions.
- An earlier roughly $100,000 imposition led to an abrupt collapse in filings at major users and was struck down by a federal judge in June, and the administration is now pursuing the fee through formal rulemaking rather than immediate implementation.
- Analysts and DHS data show the prior measure cut lottery entries by large margins and the Institute for Progress models project the new proposal could reduce demand by 63 to 91 percent, raising questions about revenue estimates and employer behaviour.
- The proposal is not in effect and will face a public comment period and likely new court challenges that will determine whether, when, and how any fee is adopted and how it will affect tech firms, universities, healthcare staffing, and foreign‑trained workers.