Trump to impose $100k fee for H-1B worker visas, White House says

The actual proclamation [1] is very narrow: a $100k surcharge on new H-1B petitions for workers outside the US. It’s a one-time hit tied to the petition. It does not say “annual.” It does not drag in renewals or transfers for people already in status.

Boundless is technically right that a $100k fee exists, but the piece glosses over the narrow scope and leans into speculation. It frames the fee like an ongoing tax on every H-1B, which just isn’t what the proclamation says. The difference matters: a one-time petition fee is brutal enough, but calling it annual misstates the policy and inflates the impact.

[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/rest...

You may want to read the section on enforcement:

> Section 1. Restriction on Entry. (a) Pursuant to sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), the entry into the United States of aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in a specialty occupation under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), is restricted, except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000 — subject to the exceptions set forth in subsection (c) of this section. This restriction shall expire, absent extension, 12 months after the effective date of this proclamation, which shall be 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025.

AP is reporting the amount as an annual fee

https://apnews.com/article/h1b-visa-trump-immigration-8d3969...

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-mulls-a...

I don't see your point, the section describes a restriction on "entry into the United States". Most H1b visa holders are already in the US so this doesn't apply to them.

It's not just for new petitions, it's a requirement for _entry_ into the US. So, someone on an _existing_ H1, just traveling out of the country means you need to pay $100K to re-enter the US.

Any idea what is considered a petition? New h1b? Transfer? Extension?

Except lots of people travel outside of the US for tourism, business, to see family, due to family emergencies, or - critically for H1Bs - to renew their visa.

It's the thing you do to apply for the visa. You may worry that, because there is no language in this section specifying which visas this travel restriction applies to (newly issued/renewed, etc), and because of the inclusion of the word "supplemented," that this travel restriction applies broadly to all issued H1-B visas. And, well, the immigration lawyers at Microsoft[1] seem to share that worry.

[1] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/work/microsoft-urge...