President Imposes $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visa Applications
9/21/2025 Update:
This memorandum clarifies that individuals with approved H-1B petitions or valid H-1B visas are not impacted by the proclamation and may continue to travel to and from the United States without restriction under this directive.
The Office of International Affairs has prepared an FAQ page to help you understand how this might impact you or your employees. We will continue to monitor developments and share updates with for utsw’s international community as they become available.
On the evening of September 19, 2025, the president issued a proclamation:
Starting September 21, 2025, U.S. employers must pay a $100,000 fee per worker to bring an H-1B employee from abroad, unless an exception applies.
This means our H1B petitions of those outside the United States would require a $100,000 payment fee and without it the H1B visa would not be approved by USCIS. The rule applies for 12 months (through September 20, 2026), unless extended. This is a significant development, and we are awaiting announcement of which industries, if any, DHS will provide exceptions.
Who Does This Apply To
- H-1B petitions NOT filed on or before September 21, 2025, where the employee is outside the U.S.
Who Does This Not Apply To
- Employees who are already inside the U.S. as of 12:01 a.m. on September 21, 2025, even if their petition is still pending.
- Employees whose H-1B petition was approved before September 21, 2025.
- Employees whose petition is 1) a change of status to H-1B, 2) extension of H-1B status or 3) change of H-1B employer for an individual physically present in the U.S.
Beneficiaries of these approved petitions will not be subject to the payment even if they later depart the United States and apply for a visa or seek to reenter on a current H1B visa. (updated 10/21/2025)
The office of international affairs is working diligently to learn more about this proclamation and to assess its impact on those H1B visa applications that are in our queue.