US Lawmakers Seek Exemption from $100,000 H-1B Visa Filing Fee for Hospitals

Lawmakers believe imposing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions will exacerbate hospitals’ existing staffing challenges and could push chronically underfunded hospitals to their financial brink. Health care workers in the US call for an exemption from the $100,000 filing fee for H-1B visas. A bipartisan letter, signed by 100 lawmakers and supported by the American Hospital Association (AHA), was sent by members of Congress on February 11 to the Department of Homeland Security, demanding an exemption from the $100,000 filing fee for H-1B visas. The new H-1B $100K rules allow US employers to request an exception for their foreign workers if they believe their worker meets a high threshold by sending a request and supporting evidence to DHS. An exception can be granted in rare cases where a foreign H-1B worker’s presence in the US is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the US’s security or welfare, or if no American worker is available. Also Read: Trump administration moves to bar non-citizens from public housing — mixed families, elderly immigrants hit hardest “Imposing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions will exacerbate hospitals’ existing staffing challenges and could push chronically underfunded hospitals to their financial brink. If these hospitals cannot petition for new H-1B visas to address their staffing needs without also having to pay this fee, it will further damage their financial viability. Critically needed open positions will simply go unfilled, leaving rural and high-poverty urban areas without adequate access to care,” the legislators wrote. Rural hospitals and urban safety net hospitals face uncommon recruitment and retention issues and will most acutely feel the effects of the $100,000 fee. These hospitals rely heavily on the H-1B visa to maintain adequate staffing and offer comprehensive services in high-need areas. 21 million Americans live in areas where foreign-trained physicians account for at least half of all practicing physicians. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, nearly 87 million Americans live in areas federally designated as lacking enough medical professionals to address the community’s health care needs. Physician demand could exceed supply by up to 86,000 in the next decade, and clinical laboratory science programs are educating less than half the number of clinical laboratory professionals needed. These shortages cannot be filled by the domestic workforce alone, and projections will worsen if health care employers cannot continue to recruit and retain international health care workers. Starting September 21, 2025, US employers need to pay a $100,000 filing fee for H-1B visas for hiring each foreign worker. This will also apply for the H-1B cap season 2027 initial registration period that opens on March 4 and closes on March 19, 2026. There’s a $215 H-1B registration fee for each registration. USCIS will provide selection notifications to prospective petitioners and representatives with at least one registration selected via their USCIS online accounts by March 31. However, the H-1B $100K petition fee rules exempt certain workers, and foreign students, thus not requiring US employers to pay the fee while hiring foreign workers. The US has clarified that F-1 students and H-1B visa holders currently in the US are exempt from the $100k fee proclamation. The $100K petition fee will not apply to any previously issued H-1B visas. Also, if the H-1B petitions have been submitted before September 21, 2025, the new fee will not apply. H-1B renewals will not be impacted and employers need not pay the new $100K fee. H-1B status is valid up to 3 years and extendable up to another 3 years, for a total period of admission of 6 years in the US.