H-1B Visa Overhaul Heats Up as Trump Administration Proposes $103K Fee and Wage Rule Changes

NewsData.io · United States · Aug 30, 2026

The Trump administration is pushing a formal DHS rule to impose a $103,265 fee on cap-subject H-1B petitions after a federal judge blocked an earlier $100,000 presidential proclamation. The Labor Department has separately proposed changing wage calculation rules for H-1B and related visa programs to reduce incentives to hire foreign workers below market rates. Justice Department Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon warned that employers using visa programs and staffing pipelines to obtain cheaper foreign labor in lieu of American workers face legal exposure, with DOJ, EEOC, and Labor coordinating enforcement. These regulatory moves carry direct implications for staffing firms reliant on H-1B pipelines, particularly in the tech sector.