USCIS issues new guidance on $100,000 H-1B visa fee; check how Indians benefit

United States: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued detailed guidance clarifying how the recently announced $100,000 H-1B visa fee will be implemented.

The new guidelines is set to bring major relief to employers and visa applicants

The USCIS's guidelines clarified that existing foreign nationals on F-1 or L-1 visas who have applied or will apply for a change of status to H-1B visa will not have to pay the $100,000 fee.

The clarification follows the presidential proclamation issued on September 19, 2025, and explains who must pay the fee, when it applies, and the limited circumstances under which exemptions may be granted.

According to the USCIS release on October 20, the new fee applies to all new H-1B petitions filed on or after 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on September 21, 2025, for beneficiaries who are outside the United States and do not currently hold a valid H-1B visa. The rule also extends to petitions requesting consular processing, port-of-entry notification, or pre-flight inspection for individuals inside the US.

However, the fee does not apply to cases involving changes of status, amendments, or extensions of stay filed for individuals already within the US, which include international students on F-1 visas and professionals on L-1 visas, provided such requests are approved. USCIS clarified that these beneficiaries will not be subject to the fee even if they later travel abroad and apply for a visa or reenter the country using a valid H-1B visa.

Who should be worried?

The agency further explained that the $100,000 fee would become mandatory if a change of status or extension request is denied — for example, if the applicant is found ineligible for a valid nonimmigrant status or leaves the US before the case is adjudicated.

Importantly, USCIS emphasized that the proclamation does not affect existing valid H-1B visas or petitions filed before September 21, 2025.

How to pay?

Employers required to pay the fee must do so through the federal payment portal, Pay.gov, by following instructions available at https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/1772005176.

Exceptions to the payment requirement are extremely rare and may only be granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security in cases deemed to be in the national interest—where no American worker is available for the role, the foreign worker poses no security risk, and requiring payment would significantly undermine US interests.

Employers seeking such an exception must submit a detailed request, along with supporting documentation, to H1BExceptions@hq.dhs.gov, USCIS stated.