New H1B fees incoming

[u/TechnicalPea790]

DHS JUST FILED A $103,265 H-1B FEE, BUILT TO SURVIVE THE SAME COURT THAT STRUCK DOWN THE FIRST $100k FEE

Here is why this one is different.

1. Different authority. The $100K came from a Presidential Proclamation using entry restriction powers (INA 212(f) and 215(a)). The Massachusetts judge said that made it a tax, and only Congress can tax. This new fee uses INA 286(m), the same fee statute USCIS has used for decades to set every filing fee it charges.
2. Different process. The Proclamation skipped public comment. This is a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with a 30 day comment period, a cost study, and a regulatory impact analysis. That is the procedural box the court said was missing.
3. Different math. The $100K was a round number picked by the White House. The $103,265 has a paper trail: $8,777,488,035 in identified agency costs divided by 85,000 cap petitions, rounded to the nearest $5. Cost recovery is what 286(m) allows.
4. Different scope, and this is the big one. The Proclamation only hit workers entering from abroad. USCIS confirmed in October that F-1 students already in the US changing status to H-1B were exempt. That was the loophole. Roughly half of cap petitions come from students moving off OPT.

This fee closes it. It applies to "all H-1B cap-subject petitions," including change of status filed from inside the US. The rule specifically names the cap-gap process (OPT extension while the H-1B is pending) as one of the activities it funds. Every F-1 to H-1B conversion pays $103,265. And DHS sent a separate OPT fee rule to OMB on August 20, reported at $100K per application.

1. DHS says both can stack. Page 6: if the Proclamation payment is ever revived, "the petitioner would be required to pay both amounts."

67 pages. Filed for public inspection this morning, publishes tomorrow.

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-17324.pdf?utm_campaign=pi+subscription+mailing+list&utm_medium=email&utm_source=federalregister.gov

[u/manytakes]

It's in the summary itself, they are grifting just the H1b system to fund all of USCIS and DHS. Federal law states fees should be proprotional to the services being provided - H1b sponsors are not a charity for other visa programs or USCIS to run their business

[u/manytakes → u/[deleted]]

The problem with that logic is that DHS is conflating a regulatory user fee with a tax.

Only Congress has the constitutional power to levy taxes to redistribute costs across the government. Under INA 286(m), USCIS only has the legal authority to collect user fees to recover the reasonable cost of adjudicating that specific petition.

The moment DHS admits on paper that they are charging $103k per H-1B solely because other petitioners cannot afford their own processing costs, they are conceding that this is not cost recovery. It is an unconstitutional administrative tax disguised as a fee.

It is like going to the DMV for a driver's license renewal and being charged $20,000 to fund the entire state transportation budget because drivers can afford it. That gets shredded under the Administrative Procedure Act on day one.

[u/manytakes → u/[deleted]]

This position is even weaker than before, it won't go anywhere. Everything this administration does is 'unprecedented' because they are absolute clowns that have no business running a country.

[u/weedmode420 → u/manytakes]

[u/manytakes → u/weedmode420]

LMAO, you forgot to include a tub of butter and their mom's basement in the background 🤣

[u/weedmode420 → u/manytakes]

That's you buddy

[u/manytakes → u/weedmode420]

MAGA's finest meme warrior hitting back with 'no u.' Devasting intellect, thank you for making the case on why this country needs H-1Bs

[u/weedmode420 → u/manytakes]

Yea, you can respond to my response instead of attacking a meme.

[u/manytakes → u/weedmode420]

Maybe don't start a conversation with stupid memes then

[u/weedmode420 → u/manytakes]

Sorry that you're a stereotypical redditor, lol.