Key takeaways

• Trump has ordered a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions filed from 21 September 2025 onward.
• The H-1B fee increase targets new applications, while most existing H-1B visas and standard renewals remain exempt.
• Twenty US states and business groups are suing, saying the rule is unlawful and will worsen skilled-worker shortages in key sectors that employ many South Asian and Nepali professionals.

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The Trump administration has imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions for skilled foreign workers, a steep increase that immigration experts say could sharply reduce new hiring from abroad and hit sectors already facing labour shortages. The new H-1B visa fee applies to petitions filed on or after 21 September 2025 and does not cover existing visa holders or renewals already approved.

Under the presidential proclamation “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” employers must now show proof of the $100,000 payment when filing new H-1B petitions, particularly for workers outside the United States. Limited national-interest waivers exist, but guidance on who qualifies remains narrow and unclear, according to immigration law firms tracking the rule.

California and 19 other US states have sued the Trump administration, arguing the H-1B fee hike is unlawful because federal immigration fees are meant to cover administrative costs, not raise revenue or reshape the job market. The lawsuits warn that the rule will hurt tech, healthcare, education and other industries that rely heavily on H-1B workers, and could push more high-skill jobs offshore.

Analysts say the $100,000 H-1B visa fee is already forcing companies in technology and outsourcing hubs to rethink US hiring plans, including staff from India, Nepal and other South Asian countries who depend on the H-1B pathway for long-term careers in the United States. Employers sponsoring Nepali STEM graduates may now face difficult cost decisions as they weigh hiring in the US versus moving work overseas.