Washington: US Monday proposed an additional fee of USD 103,265 for all H-1B visa cap-subject applications, including those filed by applicants eligible for the advanced degree exemption.
The US Congress currently limits the H-1B visa programme to 65,000 visas a year under the regular cap.
An additional 20,000 visas are available for foreign workers who have obtained a master’s degree or higher from a US institution. This is commonly known as the “master’s cap”.
The new proposal from the Department of Homeland Security comes a month after a federal appeals court rejected a plea to stay a district judge’s order overturning the Trump administration’s plan to charge a USD 1,00,000 fee on H-1B visa applications.
“DHS proposes to implement the USD 103,265 amount as a separate, additional H-1B fee rather than combining it with the existing H-1B petition fee,” according to a notice published in the Federal Register.
The department has invited public comments on the proposal within the next 30 days. The final rule will be published after reviewing the comments.
It said the fee would apply only to H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, but not to cap-exempt filings.
Under the proposed rule, the additional fee would not apply to H-1B petitions that are not subject to the cap, such as petitions filed by certain nonprofit research organisations, governmental research bodies, and institutions of higher education, the DHS said.
“The proposed H-1B fee is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programmes that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers,” said US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The proposed fee is specifically to recover the interagency costs described in this rule, and having a standalone fee is intended to facilitate tracking, allocation, and reporting of the associated revenue, the DHS said.
The proposed fee would be paid at the time of filing and would be imposed in addition to all other applicable fees or payments.
For these reasons, DHS proposes to implement the USD 103,265 amount as a separate, additional H-1B fee rather than combining it with the existing H-1B petition fee, the notice said.
DHS estimates the proposed fee would generate approximately USD 8.8 billion annually, based on a projected annual volume of 85,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions.
“Same number. New wrapper. Same playbook. Throw enough things at the wall to restrict legal immigration and eventually something might stick (this won’t),” said Emily Neumann, a US-based immigration attorney.
Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us, a bipartisan advocacy organisation that lobbies for changes in immigration and criminal justice policies, said the proposed move could hurt the US’ ability to attract and retain skilled workers from around the world.
