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The US has proposed an additional USD 103,265 fee for all H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, according to an official press release issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to the release, issued on Monday (local time), the proposed fee would be paid at the time of filing and imposed on top of all other applicable fees or payments. DHS estimates the fee would generate approximately USD 8.8 billion annually, based on a projected 85,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions. "The proposed H-1B fee is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers," said US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler. DHS said the revenue would help recover federal government costs related to "adjudication of immigration benefits, fraud detection and national security vetting, systems modernization, records and fee collection operations, immigration court operations, consular visa processing, labor standards enforcement, and interagency coordination." As per the release, the additional fee would not apply to H-1B petitions that are not subject to the cap, including petitions filed by certain nonprofit research organisations, government research organisations and institutions of higher education. The move follows a federal judge's decision in June to strike down the Trump administration's previously proposed USD 100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, The Hill reported. US District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that it was unlawful to implement a tax on visa applications, saying Congress has the authority to set immigration policy and taxes. The earlier proposal applied to universities, hospitals and research-based institutions, which would not be affected by the newly proposed DHS fee. The annual statutory limit for new H-1B visas is 85,000, comprising 65,000 regular-cap visas and 20,000 for applicants holding a master's degree or higher from a US institution of higher education. Of the 65,000 regular-cap visas, 6,800 are reserved for nationals of Chile and Singapore. H-1B visas allow US companies to hire foreign workers in specialised, high-skilled occupations and are particularly important to the technology industry. As the Hill reported, companies and tech workers will have 30 days to comment on the proposed rule once it is published in the Federal Register, which officials said is expected Tuesday (local time). (ANI)
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