Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Aug 26

Trump Pauses Global Visa Appointments, Targets 200,000 Asylum Visas and $103,265 H-1B Fee

Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Aug 26

Trump Pauses Global Visa Appointments, Targets 200,000 Asylum Visas and $103,265 H-1B Fee

Q: If a $103,265 visa petition is denied, do companies lose their massive investment completely?

Not necessarily—but under the proposal as written, companies may well be at risk of losing it. The key issue is that the proposed $103,265 charge appears to be a filing-time fee tied to an H-1B cap-subject petition, and the proposal does not say it would be refunded if USCIS denies the petition. In the immigration system, filing fees are usually paid up front and are generally nonrefundable once the government accepts the case for processing, even if the petition is later denied. That is how most USCIS petition fees work now. What is still unclear is whether DHS might create a refund rule in the final version, or distinguish between a petition that is denied on the merits and one that is rejected before adjudication because it was improperly filed. The public notice specifically leaves that question unanswered, which is one of the biggest practical concerns for employers. There is also an important timing point: companies do not have to pay this new fee now. It is only a proposed rule, with a 30-day comment period and likely months of further process, plus expected legal challenges. The earlier $100,000 payment attempt was blocked in court and is not currently enforceable. So if this new rule were finalized without a refund provision, an employer whose petition is denied could indeed lose the full $103,265, on top of ordinary H-1B filing costs. But for now, that outcome remains hypothetical because the proposal is not yet in effect.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 26

State Department posts worldwide paused or rescheduled immigrant-visa appointments for consular training, part of a broader Trump administration immigration crackdown.
The training is meant to help officers screen applicants for possible reliance on public benefits and apply tougher reviews consistently across embassies and consulates.
Separately, the administration plans rolling revocations of B1/B2 visas for about 200,000 people who entered as short-term visitors and later sought asylum, calling that use of visas fraudulent.
DHS also proposed a $103,265 fee on cap-subject H-1B petitions—up from roughly $2,000 to $5,000 now—to raise an estimated $8.8 billion a year, though it acknowledged smaller employers may file fewer petitions.
The moves extend a wider visa clampdown that has already canceled more than 175,000 visas and is facing court setbacks over other Trump-era restrictions.

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BBC.com55d ago

Trump Administration Pauses Global Visa Appointments, Plans 200,000 Asylum Visa Cancellations, Proposes $103,000 H-1B Fee

The Wall Street Journal57d ago

Government Proposes New Six-Figure Fee for H1-B Visas - WSJ

The Washington Post57d ago

Trump Administration Proposes $103,265 H-1B Visa Fee After Legal Setback

21 Sources

Will a six-figure visa fee force tech giants to offshore jobs rather than hire foreign talent locally?

If a $103,265 visa petition is denied, do companies lose their massive investment completely?

DHS Proposes $103,265 H-1B Petition Fee: Legal, Economic, and Global Impacts of the 2026 Rulemaking

Overview

In August 2026, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a record $103,265 fee for every H-1B cap-subject petition, aiming to raise $8.78 billion by dividing this target among 85,000 petitions. This move follows the court’s rejection of a previous $100,000 fee, prompting DHS to use new legal strategies. The proposal triggered alarm among U.S. businesses, especially small companies and Indian professionals, and led to a compressed 30-day public comment period. As a result, employers are exploring alternative visa options, nearshoring, and remote hiring, while immigration policy volatility is now seen as a major business risk.

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