New H-1B Visa Fee Rule: Major Relief for Students and Existing Visa Holders

The new H-1B visa rule implemented from September 21, 2025, introduces a significant change impacting employers and foreign workers seeking to enter the U.S. under the H-1B specialty occupation visa program. Under this new proclamation, U.S. employers must pay a $100,000 fee per H-1B worker who is outside the United States at the time the petition is filed or pending. This fee requirement aims to restrict entry to those new H-1B visa holders whose petitions are filed on or after this date, affecting new applicants but not those with petitions approved before September 21, 2025, or current visa holders.​

This $100,000 fee is part of the government's effort to prioritize American workers by making it more expensive for companies to hire foreign workers at possibly lower wages. The fee applies for 12 months initially, through September 20, 2026, unless further extended. The rule exempts petitions filed before the effective date, and petitions for amendments, change of status, or extensions for workers already in the U.S. are not subject to this fee. In other words, the rule only directly affects new H-1B visa applicants outside the U.S. seeking to enter under new petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025.

Exceptions in the H-1B $100,000 Fee Rule

The fee applies only to new H-1B petitions for workers outside the United States who do not already have a valid H-1B visa.

Existing H-1B visa holders with currently valid visas are exempt from paying the fee when renewing or extending their status.

Any H-1B petitions submitted before September 21, 2025, are exempt.

Critically, the rule does not apply to petitions filed for amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for individuals already inside the U.S. on a valid visa. This means workers changing status inside the U.S. do not pay the fee, even if switching to H-1B.​

Impact on F-1 and L-1 Visa Holders

International students in the U.S. on F-1 visas who apply to change status to H-1B inside the country are exempt from the $100,000 fee. This relieves a major financial burden on recent graduates transitioning to work visas without leaving the U.S.

Similarly, professionals on L-1 intra-company transfer visas inside the U.S. who seek to change or extend status to H-1B or renew are also exempt from the fee.

However, individuals currently outside the U.S. on F-1 or L-1 visas applying for a new H-1B visa to enter the U.S. are subject to the fee unless they qualify for a rare national interest waiver.​

National Interest Exception

Employers can request exemptions from the $100,000 fee under “extraordinarily rare” national interest circumstances. To qualify, they must prove the work is critical to U.S. interests, no American is available for the role, the foreign national poses no security threat, and that paying the fee would significantly undermine U.S. interests (e.g., in emergency healthcare or national security projects). These waivers are difficult to obtain due to stringent requirements.