The White House announced on Friday that President Donald Trump has extended an executive order imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B non-immigrant visas for another year.
U.S. employers seeking to hire skilled foreign workers utilize the federal government’s H-1B visa program, which allows technical and other professionals from abroad to work in the United States for a period of years.
Trump, who has pursued aggressive immigration policies, has criticized the program and sought to permanently raise the fee—currently ranging between $2,000 and $5,000—to a minimum of $100,000, though this effort has faced legal challenges.
A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing a federal judge’s June ruling that declared the higher fee imposed by the Trump administration illegal and barred the government from collecting it. Another court is considering whether a judge properly dismissed a challenge to the fee brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobbying group.
Trump’s initial order for the fee hike, first issued in September 2025, was set to expire this month. The measure does not apply to foreign nationals already in the U.S. on student visas—who make up a significant portion of new H-1B recipients—nor does it apply to the renewal of existing visas.
Despite criticism that some companies use these visas to hire lower-paid foreign workers instead of Americans, business groups and companies argue that the visas facilitate the recruitment of highly skilled professionals and address shortages of qualified American workers in certain industries.
The visas, established by Congress in 1990, are particularly important for technology companies looking to recruit from India and China. Changes in the screening and processing of prospective visa holders have impacted companies’ hiring and expansion plans; however, some top H-1B users—such as Google’s parent company, Alphabet—are moving ahead to expand operations in India.