Starting in 2026, President Donald Trump plans to crank up the H-1B visa cost to $100,000. This could dramatically reshape how companies approach foreign hiring.
That’s over ten times more than what it was under President Joe Biden. Here’s a closer look at what that means for U.S. companies competing for global talent, as well as the reaction from Trump’s own supporters.
See Also: Trump ‘Gold Card’ Visa Price Slashed By 80%, Expert Calls It ‘Admission Of Failure’
What Is The H-1B Visa Program?
Before 1990, the H-1 visa existed under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, but it was limited and did not specifically address the needs of the modern labor market.
Eventually, the Immigration Act of 1990 — signed into law by President George H. W. Bush — established the H-1B visa program to allow U.S. employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations temporarily.
The act aimed to address skill shortages in fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing a legal pathway for foreign professionals to work in the U.S., as long as they had at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
How Has H-1B Changed?
Since its inception, the H-1B program has undergone various amendments to address evolving economic needs and changes within the U.S. labor market. For example, in 2004, the H-1B Visa Reform Act introduced a $500 fraud prevention and detection fee per petition. It also included an ACWIA (American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998) training fee of $750 for employers with 25 or fewer employees and $1,500 for larger employers.
2024: The cost for an employer to sponsor an H-1B visa in the U.S. varied based on company size, visa type, and processing speed. For a standard petition, the total cost ranges from approximately $1,700 to $8,000. See the breakdown below:
| FEE TYPE | AMOUNT (USD) | NOTES |
| Registration | $215 | Required for all new cap-subject petitions. |
| Base Filing Fee | $460 (small employers … |