The Donald Trump administration has extended the measure imposing a $100,000 fee on professional work visa (H-1B) applications for another year, despite a federal court ruling that the measure was illegal. According to the White House, President Trump signed an executive order on the 18th extending the validity of the high H-1B fee policy for 12 months, until September 21, 2027. The $100,000 fee measure, first introduced last September, was set to expire this month. Previously, in June, a federal court in Massachusetts ruled to halt the implementation of the policy, stating that the Trump administration had infringed upon the authority of Congress and exceeded its constitutional powers by imposing the fee. In response, the Trump administration has appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston and intends to maintain the validity of the executive order even while the appeal trial is underway.
The Trump administration has argued that the H-1B program has been abused to hire low-wage foreign workers and suppress the wages of American employees. Accordingly, the administration maintains that the imposition of a $100,000 fee is effective in shifting the hiring structure toward one centered on highly skilled and high-wage talent. This fee imposition primarily targets new H-1B visa applicants seeking to enter the United States from overseas. It does not apply to H-1B status conversions for international students already residing in the U.S. or the extension of existing visas. However, the business and IT sectors are strongly protesting the enforcement of this high-fee policy amidst ongoing legal uncertainty. They warn that this measure will hinder U.S. companies from securing top overseas talent and will instead lead to the negative consequence of companies poaching jobs to their overseas subsidiaries.