- Denver H-1B visa petitions are projected to drop 50% in 2026 due to new federal regulations.
- A $100,000 fee on new petitions and wage-based selection systems are deterring employers from entry-level hiring.
- Total national registrations could plummet to 250,000 from last year’s 400,000 according to legal experts.
(DENVER) – Denver-area employers are on track to file far fewer new H-1B visa petitions in 2026 after the federal government imposed a $100,000 fee on certain fresh petitions and adopted a wage-based selection system that favors higher-paid jobs.
The local decline is running at more than 50%, based on quarterly 2025 data annualized for the year ahead, and attorneys who track the market said the pullback is already visible in filings and registrations.
Brodie of the Economic Innovation Group said Denver’s quarterly 2025 data, if annualized, would put total new H-1B applications for 2026 at more than 50% below prior levels. Immigration attorney Rajiv Khanna of Immigration.com said filings are “down about 50%” compared with the previous year, citing both the $100,000 fee and wage-based selection.
The shift lands hardest on entry-level hiring and on companies with heavy reliance on IT outsourcing models. Employers seeking more specialized, senior, or higher-wage workers face less exposure because the selection system now rewards pay levels that sit above the lower end of the market.
USCIS opened the FY2026 H-1B registration window on March 4, 2026. The window closed on March 19, 2026.
| India | China | ROW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | Dec 15, 2022 ▼107d | Apr 01, 2023 | Current |
| EB-2 | Sep 01, 2013 ▼317d | Sep 01, 2021 | Current |
| EB-3 | Dec 15, 2013 ▲30d | Aug 01, 2021 ▲47d | Jun 01, 2024 |
| F-1 | Sep 01, 2017 | Sep 01, 2017 | Sep 01, 2017 |
| F-2A | Jan 01, 2025 ▲153d | Jan 01, 2025 ▲153d | Jan 01, 2025 ▲153d |
That timetable framed the first registration cycle shaped by the new cost and selection rules. In Denver, the effect appears to mirror a broader national retreat in new H-1B registrations under the same policy changes.
Khanna tied the local slowdown directly to the higher filing cost and the new ranking system. Companies that once depended on large classes of junior foreign hires now face a different calculation, especially where the job offer sits at the lower end of prevailing wage levels.
VisaNation Law Group managing attorney Shilpa Malik said registrations could fall from about 400,000 in FY2025 to 250,000-300,000 in FY2026. That projection points to a smaller national pool, even before regional differences in industry mix and employer demand come into view.
Denver’s market gives that drop a distinct shape. Companies that hire early-career workers in large numbers appear to be absorbing the sharpest reduction, while firms recruiting for narrower technical roles or more senior positions remain better insulated from the new rules.
The mechanics are straightforward. A wage-based selection framework shifts advantage toward petitions tied to higher-paid positions, which leaves lower-paid and entry-level roles at a disadvantage during the selection process.
The added $100,000 fee changes behavior at the front end as well. Employers weighing whether to pursue certain fresh H-1B petitions must now decide whether the cost makes sense before they even reach the later stages of the process.
That cost pressure is especially acute for business models built on volume. A company that once filed for many junior workers can no longer treat the system as a numbers exercise if each qualifying fresh petition carries a six-figure price tag.
Brodie’s annualized reading of Denver’s 2025 quarterly data suggests the local market is adjusting quickly rather than gradually. The drop he described places Denver on course for a contraction that tracks with the steepest estimates now circulating among lawyers and analysts watching the H-1B visa system.
Khanna’s estimate of filings being “down about 50%” year over year adds a second measure pointing in the same direction. Malik’s forecast of a decline from about 400,000 registrations to 250,000-300,000 provides the national scale behind that local change.
Employers in the Denver area now face a split market. Businesses that need specialized or senior talent still have a path under rules that favor higher wages, while companies centered on junior hiring and outsourcing-heavy staffing have lost much of the advantage they once drew from filing in bulk.
The result is a smaller, more selective pipeline. In Denver, that means the new H-1B visa cycle is shaping up less around how many petitions employers can submit and more around whether a job is paid enough to compete under wage-based selection and whether the $100,000 fee is worth paying at all.
