$100K H-1B fee
$100,000 fee on new H-1B visas. A $100,000 fee on each new H-1B petition for skilled foreign workers.
What it does
Employers pay $100,000 for each new H-1B petition for a skilled foreign worker. A 2025 proclamation set the fee; courts have blocked it, and a similar fee has been proposed by regulation.
Applies to: New H-1B petitions.
- Pay $100,000 with each new H-1B petition (2025 proclamation); renewals exempt.
- A proposed 2026 regulation would set a $103,265 fee on cap-subject petitions, exempting universities and nonprofit research groups.
Where things stand
The fee took effect in September 2025, was vacated by a federal court in June 2026, and remains unenforceable. The proclamation was extended to September 2027. New international student enrollment fell 17% in fall 2025.
Why it costs ~6 days
Frontier labs can afford the fee. The effect is a thinner pipeline of students and researchers, which builds slowly: about 2 days a year in.
Biggest unknown: How much a fee changes who comes to the U.S. to study and work in AI. The fee is currently blocked in court.
Its effect on p(doom)
Not a safety law. It changes who can come to America to work on AI.
It changes the pace of U.S. progress, not safety practices. No clear effect on risk.
The strongest case that it costs more
Talent compounds. If the U.S. becomes a less reliable destination, top students go elsewhere, and some go to China. The cost could grow year after year and exceed a month.
The debate
For
- Howard Lutnick, Commerce Secretary said if you're going to train people, train Americans, 2025.
- Rep. Riley Moore introduced the Stop CCP VISAs Act, 2025.
Against
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued to block the fee, 2025.
- Institute for Progress found most top U.S. AI companies were founded by immigrants, 2025.
Sources
- Proclamation restricting entry of certain nonimmigrant workers (Sept 19, 2025)
- CUPA-HR, federal court vacates H-1B fee (June 2026)
- DiRaimondo & Schroeder, proclamation extended but fee blocked (Sept 2026)
- CSET, Keeping top AI talent in the United States (2019)
- IIE Open Doors 2025: new international enrollment down 17%
Rough starting points, not precise forecasts. Lead costs assume China doesn't depend on U.S. models, the case least favorable to safety laws, and count 3 years. On the menu you can change every assumption and put in your own numbers. Last priced 2026-09-26.