Demystifying The Mystifying New $100,000 H-1B Fee

On September 19, 2025, the Trump administration issued an unexpected executive order that imposed a $100,000 per petition fee for certain H-1B petitions. While the order provided few details and caused a great deal of panic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has issued a clarification that attempts to clarify the extent of the H-1B order. The USCIS clarification indicates that the $100,000 H-1B fee only applies to an H-1B petition filed with USCIS on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025, where one of the two following circumstances exists:

Situation 1:

1. The beneficiary of the petition is physically located outside of the United States; and