US H-1B $100,000 Fee Proclamation Explained
A September 2025 proclamation put a $100,000 fee on many new H-1B petitions. Since then, a court has vacated it, paused its own ruling, been overruled on collection by an appeals court, and seen the underlying policy extended. Here is the dated timeline — and why today’s status still needs checking, not assuming.
This article is general information, not legal advice, on an actively disputed and fast-changing area of US immigration law. H-1B $100,000 fee litigation has moved through multiple reversals within months — a district court vacating the fee, that ruling being paused, an appeals court blocking collection, and a new proclamation extending the underlying policy — and it is still unresolved. Every status statement below is attributed to reporting as of October 9, 2026, and can change. Before advising any employer, student, or client on a specific H-1B case, verify the current position directly on USCIS.gov and against current federal court filings, or consult a qualified immigration lawyer.
In September 2025, a presidential proclamation introduced something visa consultancies and H-1B employers had not previously had to plan around: a flat $100,000 fee attached to many new H-1B petitions. In the year since, the fee’s status has swung back and forth through a federal district court ruling, an appeals court order, and a fresh extension proclamation — which makes it a genuinely difficult topic to summarize responsibly. This article lays out what the original proclamation covered and the dated sequence of litigation that has followed, without stating as settled fact anything that is still moving or disputed.
What the September 2025 proclamation actually did
The proclamation imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions filed for beneficiaries requesting consular notification — broadly, petitions for beneficiaries who are outside the United States or who do not already hold a valid H-1B visa. This swept in a significant share of March-lottery applicants, since many selected beneficiaries fall into exactly that category. The fee applied to petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025.
Critically, the proclamation as originally framed did not apply to extensions, amendments, or changes of status filed for workers who were already in the United States on a valid H-1B. A consultancy fielding a client question should start by establishing which of these two situations actually applies — a new consular-notification petition, or an extension/amendment/change of status for someone already on valid H-1B status — since the fee’s applicability turns on exactly that distinction.
The litigation timeline, month by month
Rather than describe the fee’s status as a single fixed fact, it is more accurate — and more useful to a consultancy — to walk through what actually happened, in order, since each stage changed the practical answer to "is this fee being collected right now."
September 2025 — the proclamation takes effect
A presidential proclamation imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions filed for beneficiaries requesting consular notification — broadly, beneficiaries outside the US or without a valid H-1B visa, which includes many March-lottery cases — for petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025. It did not apply to extensions, amendments, or changes of status for workers already in the US on a valid H-1B.
June 8, 2026 — a federal court vacates the fee
A federal district judge in Massachusetts, ruling in State of California et al. v. Noem et al., held that the $100,000 fee amounted to an unlawful tax the executive branch had no authority to impose without Congress, and vacated the policy.
Mid-June to July 24, 2026 — the ruling is paused pending appeal
The court paused its own ruling while the government appealed, which made the fee briefly collectible again for roughly six weeks, from around June 12 to July 24, 2026.
July 24, 2026 — the First Circuit blocks collection during the appeal
The First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government’s request to resume collecting the fee while its appeal proceeds, and DHS confirmed it was complying and not collecting the fee at that point. This was only a denial of the government’s request to collect during the appeal, not a final ruling on whether the fee itself is lawful — the underlying merits appeal remains undecided.
September 18, 2026 — a new proclamation extends the policy
The President signed a new proclamation extending the $100,000 fee policy for a further 12 months, through September 21, 2027. Immigration law commentators are divided on what this means in practice: some argue the existing court block should extend to cover the renewed proclamation too, while others expect DHS to argue the extension lets it resume collection — which would likely trigger fresh litigation. This is an open, disputed question among practitioners, not a settled one.
Two things are worth underlining about this sequence. First, the June 2026 ruling that the fee was an unlawful tax was never a final, settled outcome on its own — the court paused its own ruling pending appeal almost immediately, which is why the fee briefly became collectible again afterward. Second, the First Circuit’s July 2026 order blocking collection during the appeal is not the same thing as a final ruling that the fee is illegal — it only stopped the government from collecting the fee while the appeal is pending. The actual merits appeal, on whether the $100,000 fee is lawful at all, remained undecided as of this writing.
The bottom line — as of October 9, 2026, subject to change
Based on the most recent reporting available as of October 9, 2026, the $100,000 H-1B fee is not being collected, because the First Circuit’s order continues to block the government from resuming collection while its appeal is pending. The underlying legal fight over whether the fee is lawful at all remains unresolved. Layered on top of that, the September 2026 proclamation extending the policy through September 21, 2027 has introduced a new, genuinely open question that immigration law commentators have not reached consensus on: whether the existing court block already covers the extended policy, or whether DHS will treat the extension as a fresh basis to attempt collection — which would likely draw new litigation of its own.
None of this should be read as a stable, final answer. This is precisely the kind of fast-moving regulatory and litigation situation where a status written today can be outdated within weeks. Before advising any specific employer, student, or case on whether the $100,000 fee applies or is currently being collected, confirm the current position directly on USCIS.gov and against current federal court dockets — this article, and any other blog post on the subject, should be treated as background, not as the final word.
The national interest exemption — and how rare it actually is
A national interest exemption process exists for employers seeking relief from the fee, submitted to DHS at H1BExceptions@hq.dhs.gov. Consultancies should set expectations carefully here: DHS itself described these exemptions as "extremely rare" in a January 2026 congressional update. An employer should not build a filing strategy around the assumption that an exemption will be granted, and the current eligibility criteria and process should be confirmed directly with DHS rather than assumed from a previous case.
What this means for Indian consultants, students, and employers
For consultancies advising Indian H-1B aspirants and the US employers sponsoring them, the practical discipline here is the same one that applies to any fast-moving regulatory area: separate what is fixed (the original September 2025 proclamation’s basic structure, and that it did not reach extensions, amendments, or changes of status for workers already on valid H-1B) from what is still moving (whether the fee is currently being collected, and what the September 2026 extension changes in practice). A client asking "do I need to budget $100,000 for this petition" deserves an honest answer that starts with "let’s check the current status together," not a number repeated from a headline several months old.
Our H-1B visa lottery registration process explainer and our H-1B cap-exempt employer categories explainer cover two related pieces of the same H-1B picture that are useful background alongside this fee timeline. Our US visa consultant software page covers how VisaBOS helps a consultancy keep notes, links to current official guidance, and fee-status flags attached to each H-1B case record, rather than relying on memory of a court ruling from several months back — though it is a case-management tool, not a source of immigration law, and it does not replace verifying current status with USCIS or qualified counsel.
Frequently asked questions
Is the H-1B $100,000 fee currently being collected?
Per current reporting as of October 9, 2026, no — the fee is not being collected because the First Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the government from resuming collection while its appeal of the June 2026 district court ruling is pending. That said, H-1B fee litigation is moving quickly and the September 2026 extension proclamation’s practical effect is itself disputed among immigration law commentators, so this status should be treated as a snapshot, not a permanent fact. Always verify the current position directly on USCIS.gov and against current court filings before advising any specific client or case.
Does the $100,000 fee apply to H-1B extensions or changes of status?
No. As described in the original September 2025 proclamation, the fee targets new H-1B petitions filed for beneficiaries requesting consular notification — generally beneficiaries outside the US or without a valid H-1B visa. It was not written to apply to extensions, amendments, or changes of status filed for workers who already hold valid H-1B status inside the US. Confirm this distinction against the current USCIS guidance for any specific petition type before relying on it.
What did the June 2026 court ruling actually decide?
In State of California et al. v. Noem et al., a federal district judge in Massachusetts ruled on June 8, 2026 that the $100,000 fee was an unlawful tax that the executive branch had no authority to impose without Congress, and vacated the policy. The court then paused its own ruling while the government appealed, so the fee briefly became collectible again for several weeks before the First Circuit intervened in July 2026. The ruling was significant, but it was not the final word — the government’s appeal on the merits remained unresolved as of this writing.
What did the First Circuit’s July 2026 order mean?
On July 24, 2026, the First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government’s request to resume collecting the fee while its appeal of the district court ruling proceeds, and DHS confirmed it was complying by not collecting the fee at that point. It is important not to overstate this: it was a denial of the government’s request to collect during the appeal, not a final appellate ruling on whether the fee is lawful. The underlying question of legality remains open.
What does the September 2026 extension proclamation change?
On September 18, 2026, the President signed a new proclamation extending the $100,000 fee policy for an additional 12 months, through September 21, 2027. Whether this extension is already covered by the existing court block, or whether DHS could try to treat it as a fresh basis to resume collection, is genuinely disputed among immigration law firms and commentators at the time of writing. This article does not resolve that dispute — it is an open legal question that is likely to generate further litigation, and it should be tracked through current reporting and court filings rather than assumed either way.
Can an employer get an exemption from the $100,000 fee?
A national interest exemption process exists, submitted to DHS at H1BExceptions@hq.dhs.gov. However, DHS itself described exemptions as “extremely rare” in a January 2026 congressional update, so an employer should not assume an exemption will be available or should not rely on the possibility of one when planning a case. Current eligibility criteria and the process itself should be confirmed directly with DHS guidance rather than from a prior case’s experience.
Where should a consultancy confirm the current status before advising a client?
Directly against USCIS’s own H-1B page and current federal court dockets, not from this article, a prior client’s case, or a training deck. H-1B fee litigation has moved through multiple reversals within a matter of months — a district court vacating the fee, that ruling being paused, an appeals court blocking collection, and then a new proclamation extending the underlying policy — and the trend shows no sign of settling quickly. This article is not legal advice; for any specific case, confirm current status with a qualified immigration lawyer.
Disclaimer: H-1B $100,000 fee litigation is active, fast-changing, and, as of this writing, not finally resolved on the merits. This article reflects reporting available as of October 9, 2026, and is provided for general informational purposes only — it is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the official, current guidance published on USCIS.gov, the text of the current presidential proclamation, current federal court filings, or advice from a qualified immigration lawyer. Always confirm the current fee status, applicability, and any exemption process directly against official sources before relying on it for a specific case.
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