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H-1B

A $103,265 fee on H-1B lottery petitions

Homeland Security rule: Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions (RIN 1615-AD20)

  1. Draft

  2. Comments

  3. Revising

  4. In effect

Comments closed Sep 24, 2026Final rule pending

11,706 public comments

96% oppose4% support

What would change

Homeland Security proposes a $103,265 fee, on top of every other fee, for each H-1B cap-subject petition, including the master's cap.

55,762 views of the official page

Read the proposal ↗

Those opposed say

  • Far above what it costs to process a petition
  • Small businesses and startups couldn't afford it
  • Repeats the $100,000 proclamation payment as a rule

Those in favor say

  • Some say the fee should be even higher
  • Should apply to every H-1B petition, not only the lottery

A sample of 70 comments read by AI on Oct 29, not a poll. Most of the sample was copies of one letter opposing the fee.

From the Federal Register, regulations.gov and the White House's list of rules under review, checked daily. Summaries are ours and leave out detail, so read the official text before acting on it. We don't take sides on any of these.

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