The United States (US) today unfurled a proposed regulation to codify an unprecedented more than $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers that President Donald Trump first imposed last year, but has been blocked by the courts.
The proposed new fee is $103,265 (about N140 million).
The H-1B program allows US employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty fields and offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years.
The existing $100,000 fee first imposed by Trump in a temporary proclamation last year, vastly raises the cost of the visas that are heavily relied on in the US tech, education and research sectors.
Nigeria has often topped African nations in total H-1B visa issuances, notching up hundreds of approvals yearly from the USCIS.
Eligible Nigerians can apply for and receive the visas as far as they secure a job offer from a US employer willing to sponsor them.
The fee has been contentious as in June, a federal judge ruled that it was illegal and blocked the Trump administration from collecting it.
A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing that decision while a different court considers whether a judge in Washington, D.C., properly rejected a challenge to the fee by a major business group.
Trump’s 2025 proclamation imposing the fee expires next month (September), one year after it was issued, but directed the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to adopt regulations making it permanent.
The proposed $103,265 fee by DHS, posted online in the Federal Register today, to be formally published tomorrow, kicks off a 30-day public comment period. The rule could be finalized by the end of the year.
The order Trump issued last year sharply increased the cost of obtaining some H-1B visas, which had typically come with about $2,000 to $5,000 in fees, depending on various factors.
Debate Over Visa Program
Trump, a Republican, and other critics of the H-1B program say it is abused by many companies who replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor.
But business groups and many individual companies have said the visa program is needed to address a lack of qualified American workers for some jobs and to allow US businesses to recruit top talent.
About 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee on a total of 85 visa applications as of late February, according to court filings.
In imposing the fee, Trump invoked the president’s power under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals who would be detrimental to US interests.
The fee is being challenged by the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobbying group, Democratic-led states and a coalition of unions and employers.
Those lawsuits could be amended to challenge the rule proposed this week once it is finalized.
The Trump administration has also ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new visa selection process that would favor higher-skilled and better-paid workers.
Earlier in August, the DHS, in a separate rule, added fees of up to $4,500 to applications to extend the stay of H-1B workers or to transfer employees based in other countries to the US.
