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U.S. Signals H‑1B Overhaul as $100,000 Fee Triggers Corporate, Healthcare and Congressional Responses

Early signals to replace the lottery, paired with limits on low‑cost consultants, are already steering work to India.

A bipartisan duo in the Senate has drafted an unprecedented bill to curb the little-known but huge L-1 visa program, which allows multinationals to import hundreds of thousands of white collar workers while paying them home country wages.
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Overview

  • The one‑time $100,000 surcharge on new H‑1B petitions took effect Sept. 21 under a presidential proclamation, with agencies issuing clarifications on scope.
  • Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the current process “just wrong,” said changes would be settled before February 2026, questioned the lottery, and argued visas should favor highly paid hires over low‑cost consultants.
  • Industry experts cited by Reuters report U.S. firms are accelerating shifts of high‑value roles—AI, product development, cybersecurity and analytics—to India’s 1,700 Global Capability Centres, with talk of “extreme offshoring.”
  • Hospitals pressed for relief: the American Hospital Association asked DHS to exempt healthcare workers, warning of worsened staffing shortages in rural and underserved areas and seeking clarity on Conrad 30 waivers.
  • Policy pressure is widening, with senators reviving H‑1B/L‑1 reform legislation, analysts flagging the proposed HIRE Act’s 25% outsourcing tax, and the Labor Department launching Project Firewall to police visa abuse.