Overview
- Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a Senate panel on June 3 that DHS received about 286,000 H‑1B applications in fiscal 2026 and that over 200,000 applicants paid the $100,000 filing fee for quicker processing.
- Mullin said fee‑paying petitions are adjudicated in roughly 15 days while roughly 80,000 applicants who seek exemptions face about a 7.5‑month review, producing a clear speed gap tied to payment.
- USCIS reported on May 22 that properly submitted H‑1B registrations fell from 343,981 in FY2026 to 211,600 for FY2027, signaling a sharp drop in program use after the fee took effect.
- Lawmakers and hospital groups say the upfront, nonrefundable cost and slow exemption process are complicating hires for small and rural hospitals, with Senator Susan Collins citing a Presque Isle, Maine, hospital that paid the fee to recruit a surgeon.
- DHS says it can grant narrow exemptions for national interest or no available U.S. worker but describes them as rare and time consuming, a dynamic that could force more rural providers to pause recruitment or pay the fee; policymakers and the AHA are pressing for broader relief.