 |
ALPHABET WORKERS UNION Google employees protest proposed H-1B fees at tech corporation headquarters. |
A devastating proposal from the Department of Homeland Security threatens to shut the door on the next generation of talented workers from Asia.
Under a new rule published by the Department of Homeland Security on August 25, 2026, US employers would be forced to pay a staggering $103,265 fee for every cap-subject H-1B visa petition. While pitched as an administrative shift, its burden falls overwhelmingly on the AAPI community — threatening to sever the vital pipeline of skilled workers, international students, and healthcare professionals moving from Asia to the United States.
H-1B workers are foreign workers with temporary approval to work in the US in jobs that require specialized skills or knowledge.
A direct blow to Asian immigrants
The math behind the proposal paints a stark picture for Asian communities. Out of the 85,000 annual H-1B visas awarded through the lottery cap, the vast majority go to foreign national workers from Asia.
Two Asian nations make up over 83% of all H1-B visas. Indian professionals secure approximately 71% of all approved H-1B visas. Chinese nationals account for roughly 12% of approvals.
Imposing a six-figure price tag on sponsorship places an unprecedented barrier in front of tens of thousands of Asian workers striving to build their lives and careers in America.
The Trump regime's short-sighted policies could benefit other countries and the US could lose its leadership role in tech and health research to nation's eagar to scoop up the workers. China, South Korea and Canada are already revamping their immigration policies to woo the skilled workers and students.
Tech startups and recent grads priced out
For decades, the H-1B visa has been a launchpad for top international students transitioning from US universities into tech careers. Historically, filing fees ran between $2,000 and $5,000—a manageable investment for growing firms. A $103,265 upfront fee fundamentally changes that dynamic.
- The F-1 Student Trap: International students on F-1 visas who are living in the U.S. and working on Optional Practical Training (OPT) are not exempt from this fee when applying for their first H-1B cap visa. Companies will struggle to justify paying over $100,000 to hire entry-level graduates, effectively pricing fresh talent out of the market.
- Starving the Startup Engine: Small businesses and Asian-led tech startups rarely have six figures to spend on a single lottery entry they might not even win.
- Accelerating Brain Drain: Fearing closed doors in the U.S., top Indian and Chinese tech talent is increasingly heading to countries like Canada, the UK, and Australia, where immigration pathways remain predictable and affordable.
Crushing healthcare in underserved communities
While headlines focus on Silicon Valley, the healthcare industry faces a severe crisis under this policy. Hundreds of community hospitals, local clinics, and private medical networks depend on foreign-born physicians and researchers—many from South and East Asia—to fill critical labor shortages.
Foreign medical graduates, particularly from India, play a critical role in staffing clinics in low-income and rural areas. Forcing local healthcare systems to absorb a $100,000-plus fee per provider threatens to leave essential medical positions unfilled.
Specialized biostatisticians, lab technicians, and clinical researchers keeping U.S. labs running will face reduced sponsorship, slowing down critical medical breakthroughs.
Who Is Exempt — and Who Isn't?
To be clear, the proposed fee is strictly aimed at first-time cap-subject petitions.
Current H-1B holders applying for simple extensions or transferring to a new employer will not be subject to the $103,265 fee. Cap-exempt employers—such as universities and non-profit research institutions—are also spared.
Anyone entering the H-1B lottery for the first time, including international students (F-1) and foreign workers currently residing in the US.on other non-immigrant visas (such as L-1 or TN), will face the full financial penalty.
The public now has until September 24, 2026, to log official feedback during the 30-day DHS comment period.
Legal challenges are already mounting. A coalition of 20 states—led by California, Massachusetts, New York, Washington, Illinois, and New Jersey—alongside business advocacy groups like the US Chamber of Commerce, are preparing court actions to strike down the rule.
Opponents argue that executive agencies lack the constitutional authority to impose what amounts to a massive corporate tax, while warning of irreparable economic harm to state economies, university ecosystems, and community healthcare networks.
View from the edge
“As the world’s fourth largest economy, California knows that when skilled talent from around the world joins our workforce, it drives our state forward. President Trump’s illegal $100,000 H-1B visa fee creates unnecessary — and illegal — financial burdens on California public employers and other providers of vital services, exacerbating labor shortages in key sectors,” said California's Attorney General Bonta, who along with the attorneys general of 20 states, successfully sued the 2025 order from the President.
The 2026 visa fee proposed by the DHS is devastating for all states, including California, and threatens the quality of education, healthcare, and other core services available to our residents.
For example, the United States faces a nationwide teacher shortage and in the 2024-2025 school year, 74% of school districts in the U.S. reported having trouble filling open positions, particularly in special education, physical sciences, ESL or bilingual education, and foreign languages.
Educators are the third-largest occupation for H-1B visa holders, with nearly 30,000 educators on the visas, and nearly a thousand colleges and universities employ hundreds of H-1B personnel to support their research and education missions. Because K-12 schools, colleges, and universities are generally government or non-profit entities, they are incapable of absorbing an additional $100,000 for each H-1B hire.
Nearly 17,000 H-1B visas went to workers in medicine and health occupations in the 2024 fiscal year, and half of those were physicians and surgeons. Without foreign-trained physicians, the United States is projecting a shortfall of 86,000 physicians by 2036. There will not be enough doctors to care for older adults, many of whom suffer increased rates of chronic disease and have other complex medical needs. In California, access to specialists and primary care providers in rural areas is already extremely limited and is projected to worsen as physicians retire and these communities struggle to attract new doctors.
If the proposed fee is approved by the DHS after the comment period these affected institutions and industries will be forced to operate with inadequate staffing or divert funding away from other important programs to cover expenses.
“As the world’s fourth largest economy, California knows that when skilled talent from around the world joins our workforce, it drives our state forward. President Trump’s illegal $100,000 H-1B visa fee creates unnecessary — and illegal — financial burdens on California public employers and other providers of vital services, exacerbating labor shortages in key sectors,” said California's Attorney General Bonta, who along with the attorneys general of 20 states, successfully sued the 2025 order from the President.
The 2026 visa fee proposed by the DHS is devastating for all states, including California, and threatens the quality of education, healthcare, and other core services available to our residents.
For example, the United States faces a nationwide teacher shortage and in the 2024-2025 school year, 74% of school districts in the U.S. reported having trouble filling open positions, particularly in special education, physical sciences, ESL or bilingual education, and foreign languages.
Educators are the third-largest occupation for H-1B visa holders, with nearly 30,000 educators on the visas, and nearly a thousand colleges and universities employ hundreds of H-1B personnel to support their research and education missions. Because K-12 schools, colleges, and universities are generally government or non-profit entities, they are incapable of absorbing an additional $100,000 for each H-1B hire.
Nearly 17,000 H-1B visas went to workers in medicine and health occupations in the 2024 fiscal year, and half of those were physicians and surgeons. Without foreign-trained physicians, the United States is projecting a shortfall of 86,000 physicians by 2036. There will not be enough doctors to care for older adults, many of whom suffer increased rates of chronic disease and have other complex medical needs. In California, access to specialists and primary care providers in rural areas is already extremely limited and is projected to worsen as physicians retire and these communities struggle to attract new doctors.
If the proposed fee is approved by the DHS after the comment period these affected institutions and industries will be forced to operate with inadequate staffing or divert funding away from other important programs to cover expenses.
“The Trump Administration thinks it can raise costs on a whim, but the law says otherwise," said Bont, whose lawsuit agaist the 2025 presidential mandate was upheld by the federal courts.
For the AAPI community, the outcome of this fight will define whether America remains a land of opportunity for global talent or draws the curtain on the immigrant dream.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.
