WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Monday proposed making permanent a more than $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, a move that would dramatically increase costs for a program widely used in technology, education and research sectors, even as courts have blocked the fee from being collected.
The proposed regulation from the Department of Homeland Security, published in the Federal Register, would codify a $103,265 fee that President Donald Trump first imposed temporarily last year. That temporary increase expires in September, one year after it was issued. The new rule could be finalized by the end of the year.
A federal judge ruled in June that the temporary fee was illegal and blocked the administration from enforcing it. That decision is now under review by a Boston-based appeals court, while a separate court considers whether a judge properly rejected a challenge to the fee from a major business group.
The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with specialized training and offers 65,000 visas annually, plus an additional 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees. Visas are approved for three to six years. Before Trump’s order, fees for those visas typically ranged from $2,000 to $5,000.
The new fee would not apply to foreign citizens already in the United States on student visas, who make up a large share of new H-1B recipients, nor to renewals of current visas.
Trump and other critics of the H-1B program argue that companies abuse the system by replacing American workers with cheaper foreign labor. But business groups and many individual companies contend the visa program is essential to fill gaps in qualified American workers for certain jobs and to recruit top global talent.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states and a coalition of unions and employers are challenging the fee. Those lawsuits could be amended to challenge the proposed rule once it is finalized, officials said.
In a separate action Monday, the State Department said it planned to revoke the non-immigrant visas of foreigners who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the United States.
A State Department spokesman said the agency is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security “to identify and revoke the non-immigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently.”
The statement did not specify how many visas would be revoked. However, The Associated Press, citing State Department documents and two U.S. officials, reported that the administration plans to revoke up to 200,000 business and tourism visas, a move that, if carried out, would mark the largest single mass visa revocation in U.S. history.
The AP reported that the State Department will revoke so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have sought or are currently seeking asylum. B1 and B2 visas are non-immigrant visas issued for business and tourism travel.
