See updates about the H-1B visa here, “Who Will the $100K H-1B Fee Actually Apply to?“
On September 19th, 2025, the Trump administration announced the addition of a $100,000 price tag to the H-1B visa. The Proclamation, named “Restrictions on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” came into effect on September 21st, 2025.
Details around the decision were initially murky, and an atmosphere of confusion has reigned. This article will, therefore, outline who is affected, the impact of the Proclamation, and what is at stake here.
Who Uses the H-1B Visa?
In 2020, the U.S. government estimated there to be over 500,000 holders of the H-1B visa, which is intended for highly skilled workers in “specialty occupations.”
Currently, H-1B visas – 85,000 per year – are allocated to applicants via a lottery. There is a $215 registry fee attached to the application, alongside several thousands of dollars worth of application and legal fees, shouldered by employers.
Successful H1-B applications are concentrated at companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Goldman Sachs. In 2024, 3,871 H-1B visas were approved for Amazon, 2,837 for Cognizant, and 2,504 for Infosys.
The Motivation Behind the Fee
The H-1B visa is designed to connect the world’s top talent with the companies that need it. Companies that wish to hire using the H-1B visa “must first attest that they haven’t been able to find American workers with similar skills and that the foreigner will earn a salary similar to what an American worker would earn,” NPR reports.
Trump’s proclamation is rooted in claims of abuse within this system. The administration states that the program incentivizes “artificially low labor costs,” which push companies to “fire their American workers” and outsource employment. Rather than enhance the American workforce, the Proclamation explains, the H-1B visa replaces it with lower-skilled, lower-paid employees. The Proclamation links this system to increased unemployment amongst skilled American graduates.
By increasing the fee attached to the H-1B visa by 6,566.7%, the administration plans to curtail the number of foreign workers entering the U.S. on an H-1B visa, freeing up jobs and raising wages for American citizens.*
The Proclamation’s Effects
On applicants
Unsure whether the fee increase would apply only to new applicants or to all H-1B holders, visa holders scrambled to return to within U.S. borders. On September 20th, 2025, a memorandum clarified that the Proclamation “only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed.”
On companies
The $100,000 fee attached to the H-1B visa will be shouldered by companies. For many, this is a hefty price tag; Amazon’s 3,871 H-1B visas in 2024, for example, would now cost over $380M. NPR points out that many of the companies greatly affected are the very same “big tech companies that have tried hard to curry favor with Trump this year;” since this visa fee will make hiring harder, it will be interesting to see how those relationships develop.
Despite this, the Trump administration has announced that “big companies are happy with the decision.” Perhaps this is a nod to the “deep pockets” of industry giants, which Clear Admit Co-founder Graham Richmond explains may enable them to “absorb the $100K fee for workers they really want.”
The happiness of which Trump talks could also be attributed to a reduction in competition. “For smaller firms,” Richmond explains, “and companies in healthcare and scientific research, the impact is greater and more complex, as integrating $100,000 into hiring processes may not be an option. Diversity in these companies may sink in line with the ability to hire internationally. This may skew the playing field: if top international workers can be hired only by firms large enough to swallow the H-1B fee, then pathways into entrepreneurship, healthcare, or research may reduce and the market may be dominated by mega-corporations.”
The effect of this is already in play, with reports of some companies cancelling coffee chats with all students that would require visa sponsorship.
On MBA Programs
If companies must bear the hefty new H-1B fee, they are likely to think carefully – even more so than before – about who they employ via this visa. Acceptance onto a H-1B visa for recent graduates is likely to become more competitive than ever, with only the very top schools able to guarantee a route to visa sponsorship.
Many international MBA students weigh the cost of studying in the U.S. against the large post-MBA salaries and excellent career opportunities that the U.S. can offer. “[M]any international students,” Richmond says, “view the MBA as their ticket to OPT and then H-1B…and eventually citizenship.” If the securing of an H-1B is uncertain, especially for those who don’t land places at the most elite of institutions, this post-MBA employment becomes less guaranteed – and so studying in the U.S. becomes less appealing. This is especially true of international students who plan to work for nonprofits, research institutions, or healthcare organizations; if their dream companies won’t be able to shoulder the $100,000 visa fee, there seems little reason to study in the U.S.
“This change in policy,” Richmond adds, “may lead some of the best and brightest international students to shop for MBAs in markets that want to make it easier for them to find a path to permanent residency or citizenship.”
Are You Likely to Be Affected?
The change in H-1B fees sounds drastic for international MBA students hoping to build a career and life in the U.S. – but it’s important to bear timelines in mind here.
No changes to the F-1 student visa have been announced, so your ability to study in the U.S. should not be affected. No changes to the OPT visa have been announced either, so your ability to work immediately after graduating from your MBA will also not be affected.
Since most MBA programs are STEM-designated, the OPT visa usually lasts for three years.
This means that, if you are applying to a U.S.-based program now, it will be 2031 before the question of H-1B visa allocation begins to affect you. By this time, there might well be a new administration in power, and a whole new set of rules.
*Update 10/21/2025: The current state of the Proclamation implies that H-1B applicants who already reside within the U.S. on a different visa will not be required to pay the $100k fee. See this article for more.
