- The Computer & Communications Industry Association urged DHS to withdraw the proposed $103,265 H-1B charge.
- Tech groups say the fee could make hiring specialized workers harder and weaken U.S. leadership in advanced technology.
- The public comment period closed September 24, 2026; the separate White House payment requirement runs through September 21, 2027.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has asked the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw its proposed $103,265 charge on most new H-1B petitions, arguing that the price could make it harder for U.S. companies to recruit specialized workers.
The group said the proposed cost could also weaken U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. Its comments went to DHS as the agency considered the separate fee proposal.
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TechNet has also urged DHS to abandon the plan. Its members include Apple, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic.
The groups are challenging a proposed charge, not the White House’s separate H-1B payment requirement. The two actions have different terms and legal paths.
The two fee actions follow separate tracks
DHS’s proposal would apply to cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced-degree exemption. That scope makes the proposal broader than a fee limited to one subset of applicants.
The White House’s separate $100,000 requirement applies to certain new entrants. The administration first imposed it on September 19, 2025, then President Donald J. Trump renewed it in a proclamation on September 18, 2026. The extension runs through September 21, 2027.
The administration has framed that measure as a response to program abuse. The White House said it aimed to curb practices that “displace U.S. workers and undermine national security.” It also claimed use of H-1B visas by large IT outsourcing firms had fallen by 92% since the 2025 proclamation took effect.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick took part in the earlier White House rollout of the H-1B fee fight. The administration has also sought a permanent increase in the fee, from roughly $2,000 to $5,000 to at least $100,000, an effort that has faced legal challenges.
A court ruling has left the earlier fee in litigation
The extension announcement did not resolve the court fight over implementation. In June 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts struck down the administration’s implementation guidance; the case is on appeal.
The fee has been described as covering new applicants, with some exceptions for people already in the United States on student visas and certain renewals of current visas. The legal challenge concerns the separate $100,000 measure, not the new DHS proposal.
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, said the proposed DHS charge would apply to H-1B applicants but exempt positions at universities, hospitals and other nonprofit organizations.
The White House has defended restrictions on the program by saying some employers “have abused the H-1B statute and its regulations to artificially suppress wages.” Those claims form part of the administration’s case for tighter rules; the tech groups argue that a large new charge would make it more costly to bring specialized global talent into U.S. companies.
The industry argues the higher price would weaken hiring
The H-1B program is a hiring channel for technology companies seeking foreign engineers, coders and other workers in specialized fields. A sharp fee increase would add to employers’ costs when they recruit internationally, according to the industry groups opposing the proposal.
CCIA said the proposed charge could put U.S. companies at a disadvantage as they compete to develop artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. Its argument links immigration costs to the ability of companies to hire for emerging fields, rather than treating the fee as an administrative expense alone.
The White House described the 2026 proposal as a way “to generate dedicated revenue to support the costs of administering the lawful immigration system.” The industry groups, by contrast, want DHS to drop the charge rather than proceed with the rulemaking.
DHS has closed the window for public comments
The public comment period on the DHS proposal closed on September 24, 2026. The proposal remains distinct from the extended White House payment requirement, whose announced term reaches September 21, 2027.
