BenefitsPRO reported in September 2026 that the Trump administration proposed a roughly $103,000 fee on new H-1B petitions filed by private employers under the annual visa cap. The additional charge would sit on top of existing government filing costs and attorney fees for small businesses that rely on the H-1B program to hire engineers, developers, architects, accountants, and other specialty-occupation workers, and it would apply per petition, not per company.

Small business owners should focus on three questions: whether the proposal applies to their hiring plan, how it would change total sponsorship costs, and what timing risks to discuss with counsel.

What was proposed?

According to reporting from BenefitsPRO on the primary source, the Trump administration proposed a roughly $103,000 fee attached to new H-1B petitions filed by private employers.

The additional charge would apply to petitions filed under the annual H-1B cap, which is the pool most private employers draw from when sponsoring a foreign worker for the first time.

USCIS describes the H-1B classification as a visa category for specialty occupations that generally require theoretical and practical application of specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor's degree or equivalent in a specific field. Congress caps new cap-subject H-1B visas at 65,000 per fiscal year, plus an additional 20,000 reserved for workers holding a US master's degree or higher from a US institution.

Demand routinely exceeds supply by a wide margin, and USCIS runs a lottery each spring to decide which registrations advance to a full petition.

The proposed fee would be layered on top of the government filing fees an employer already pays. Under the USCIS fee schedule cited here, a cap-subject H-1B petition typically involves the base I-129 fee, the ACWIA training fee, the fraud prevention fee, and the Asylum Program Fee, which together run several thousand dollars per case before attorney costs.

Who does this hit hardest?

Large tech companies file the most H-1B petitions in absolute numbers, but the program is used across the economy. Small and mid-sized employers use it to hire software engineers, data scientists, mechanical and civil engineers, architects, physical therapists, accountants, physicians, and university-adjacent researchers.

A six-figure per-petition fee lands very differently at a 12-person engineering consultancy than at a Fortune 100 tech firm. For a small business, the fee could exceed the first-year salary premium a US employer might otherwise pay to attract the same candidate domestically.

How does the current H-1B cost stack look?

Before the proposed fee, sponsoring a new cap-subject H-1B worker already involves several separate payments to USCIS and, for most employers, outside immigration counsel.

Here is the rough shape of the cost stack for a first-time cap-subject H-1B petition at a small employer today, before the proposed $103,000 fee:

• USCIS Form I-129 base filing fee
• ACWIA training fee ($750 for employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees; $1,500 for larger employers)
• Fraud prevention and detection fee ($500)
• Asylum Program Fee (reduced rate for small employers and nonprofits)
• Optional premium processing fee for a 15-business-day decision ($2,805 under the USCIS fee schedule cited here)

• Attorney fees, which vary widely

Adding a $103,000 charge on top would multiply the total cost of a single H-1B hire by roughly an order of magnitude for most small employers.

What does proposed mean for H-1B employers?

A proposed fee is not the same as a rule in force. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, federal agencies generally publish proposed rules, accept public comments, and publish final rules before most substantive regulatory changes take effect.

Legal challenges are common when fees are large or when they appear to conflict with the statute authorizing the underlying program.

Small business owners should treat the $103,000 figure as a proposal that may change in scope, amount, or timing before it applies to any petition they file, and it could also be blocked in court. This article is not legal advice. If you are actively planning an H-1B hire, talk to an immigration attorney about how any final version of the rule would apply to your specific filing.

What should small business owners do if they rely on H-1B hiring?

If your hiring plan depends on the H-1B, a few things are worth thinking through now, before the shape of the final rule is clear.

Re-run the math on sponsored hires

A per-petition fee at this scale changes the calculus of sponsoring a foreign worker versus hiring domestically, hiring a contractor, or hiring the same person abroad through an employer-of-record arrangement. Build a simple side-by-side that includes fully loaded compensation, government filing fees, attorney costs, and the proposed fee if it applies to your case.

Here is a template you can drop into a spreadsheet:

H-1B Sponsorship vs. Alternatives, Cost Comparison

Candidate: [name / role]
Timeframe: Year 1 costs only

                                    Option A         Option B         Option C
                                    H-1B Sponsor     US Hire          EOR Abroad
-----------------------------------  --------------  --------------  --------------
Base salary                          $
Employer payroll taxes / benefits    $
USCIS filing fees (I-129, ACWIA,     $
  fraud, asylum program)
Premium processing (optional)        $
Attorney fees                        $
Proposed $103K H-1B fee (if final)   $                N/A             N/A
EOR platform fees                    N/A              N/A             $
Relocation / onboarding              $
-----------------------------------  --------------  --------------  --------------
Year 1 total                         $                $               $
Cost per productive month            $                $               $

If you use an AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude to build the working file, remove candidate names and other sensitive information first, then ask it to draft spreadsheet formulas you can review before using. A reasonable prompt: "Draft Google Sheets formulas that sum each column, calculate cost per productive month over a 12-month year, and highlight the lowest total. Use placeholder values I can overwrite."

Time your registrations carefully

USCIS announces the H-1B cap registration and petition filing windows each fiscal year, and selected registrations are filed as full petitions on a schedule USCIS publishes at the same time. If a final fee rule takes effect between registration and petition filing, the applicable fee may depend on when the petition is filed rather than when the registration was submitted. Confirm the effective date of any final rule with counsel.

Look at cap-exempt options

Some employers are exempt from the annual H-1B cap: institutions of higher education, related or affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental research organizations, plus workers employed at such institutions.

Small businesses that partner with a university or a qualifying research nonprofit sometimes have cap-exempt hiring paths available. Ask counsel whether the proposed fee would apply to cap-exempt petitions or only to cap-subject ones.

Consider other visa categories

Depending on the candidate and the role, other work visa categories may fit: O-1 for individuals with extraordinary ability, L-1 for intracompany transfers, TN for qualifying Canadian and Mexican professionals, or E-2 for nationals of certain treaty countries investing in a US business. Each has its own eligibility criteria and cost structure.

How should a small business budget for a high-cost H-1B hire?

For a small business, a six-figure government fee turns a single hiring decision into a major cash-flow consideration. A few practical points:

• Separate the money. If you use Novo Reserves or another way to set aside filing costs, confirm transfer limits, timing, and accepted payment methods with your attorney before filing day.
• Confirm refund rules. USCIS states that filing fees are generally final and non-refundable, even when an immigration benefit request is denied. Any final version of the proposed fee will have its own refund rules, so read them carefully.
• Match payments to your books. Immigration filings may require specific payment methods, so confirm accepted payment options with your attorney before moving money for filing day.

What are common questions about the proposed $103K H-1B fee?

Is the $103,000 fee in effect now?

No. As of the primary reporting cited above, the figure is a proposal by the Trump administration. It would need to move through federal rulemaking before applying to any petition, and it could be modified or blocked before then. Confirm the current status with USCIS or your immigration attorney before filing.

Does the proposed fee apply to H-1B extensions and transfers?

The reporting describes the proposal as applying to new H-1B petitions filed by private employers under the annual visa cap. Whether a final rule would reach extensions, amendments, transfers, or cap-exempt filings depends on the final rule text. Do not assume; check.

Does it apply to nonprofits and universities?

Cap-exempt employers, including qualifying institutions of higher education and nonprofit research organizations, file H-1B petitions outside the annual cap. Whether a final fee rule would apply to those petitions is a question for the rule text and, ultimately, for counsel.

What if we already registered in the most recent H-1B lottery?

Talk to your immigration attorney about the timing question specifically. The relevant date for fee purposes is typically the date the petition is filed, not the date of registration, but a final rule can set its own effective date and transition provisions.

What can we do right now?

Two things. First, if a proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, submit comments during the public comment period. Public comments become part of the agency record and can explain how a proposed rule would affect small employers. Second, review your hiring plan for the next 12 months and identify which roles genuinely require H-1B sponsorship versus which could be filled through other channels.

What is the takeaway for small businesses?

A roughly $103,000 per-petition fee would materially change how small businesses use the H-1B program. Until a final rule is published, treat the number as a planning input rather than a hard cost, and get specific legal advice before making any hiring decision that depends on how the fee is applied.

Novo is a fintech that offers small-business banking solutions and does not provide immigration, legal, tax, or accounting advice. For guidance on H-1B petitions, work with a licensed immigration attorney.

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