Overview

• The White House order requires a one‑time $100,000 supplemental payment on new H‑1B petitions filed after Sept. 21, in addition to existing filing costs.
• Immigration attorneys and business groups warn the steep charge could constrain hiring and push some work overseas, with Minnesota employers such as Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota heavily exposed.
• Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings welcomed the change for adding predictability and shifting away from lottery luck, while some startups consider hiring freezes.
• Major research universities estimate potential annual costs in the tens of millions if past hiring levels continue, citing high volumes of petitions at institutions such as Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Florida, Texas, and Harvard.
• The American Immigration Lawyers Association says the fee is unconstitutional because only Congress can set visa charges, and DHS’s proposed wage‑tier weighting faces criticism for favoring top earners and disadvantaging entry‑level applicants.