The $100,000 H-1B Payment, a Proposed $103,265 Fee, and a New 9-11 Charge: What Applies Right Now

If you are an H-1B worker, an F-1 student hoping to become one, or an employer trying to budget, the last few weeks have been confusing. On September 18, 2026 the President renewed the $100,000 H-1B payment for another year. That payment is currently blocked by a federal court. Separately, DHS has proposed a $103,265 fee on every cap-subject H-1B petition, and a different 9-11 fee started applying to more petitions on September 9.

These are three different charges, based on three different legal authorities, and they are in three different states. Here is each one. Facts are current as of September 23, 2026.

1. The $100,000 proclamation payment: renewed, but blocked

What it is

Proclamation 10973, signed September 19, 2025, restricted entry of H-1B workers unless the petition came with a $100,000 payment. USCIS applied it to certain new H-1B petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on September 21, 2025. The payment is made through pay.gov before filing.

Who it covers, and who it doesn't

According to USCIS, it applies to petitions for workers who are outside the United States and don't have a valid H-1B visa, and to petitions that ask for consular notification, port-of-entry notification or pre-flight inspection. It does not apply to a petition requesting a change of status, amendment or extension of stay for someone inside the United States, as long as that request is granted. That's the path most F-1 students on OPT use to move into H-1B.

There's a catch. If USCIS finds the person isn't eligible for the change or extension, for example because they weren't in valid status or left the country before the case was decided, the payment applies. The payment doesn't apply to H-1B visas issued before the proclamation, to petitions filed before September 21, 2025, or to renewals.

Where it stands

• June 8, 2026: the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated the agency guidance that implements the payment, in State of California v. Mullin.
• July 24, 2026: the First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's request to put that order on hold. USCIS says it will comply while DHS considers next steps, and that if the order is lifted, "DHS still plans to collect the payment."
• September 18, 2026: Proclamation 11069 extended the original proclamation for 12 more months, until September 21, 2027. It was published in the Federal Register on September 23.

The renewal extends the proclamation, but the court order blocks the guidance USCIS uses to collect the payment. As of today, USCIS hasn't said how it will handle the renewed proclamation in light of the order. Employers should expect the question to be litigated and should check USCIS's H-1B page before filing any petition that would otherwise be covered.

2. The proposed $103,265 fee: not in effect

On August 25, 2026, DHS proposed a new $103,265 fee, payable when filing, for all H-1B cap-subject petitions. That includes petitions under the master's degree exemption. It would come on top of all other fees, and on top of the proclamation payment if that ever applies too.

The proposal differs from the proclamation in the ways that matter most:

• It's based on DHS's fee-setting authority, not on the President's power to restrict entry. DHS says it's meant to recover part of the government's costs of running the immigration system.
• It isn't limited to workers abroad. As proposed, it would apply to every cap-subject petition, which would include a change of status from F-1 inside the United States.
• Cap-exempt petitions wouldn't pay it. Universities, nonprofits affiliated with them, and nonprofit or government research organizations file outside the cap.

Public comments are due by September 24, 2026. After that DHS has to consider them before issuing a final rule. DHS wrote in the proposal that the original proclamation, unless extended, would expire before this fee took effect. Realistically, the earliest the fee could matter is a future cap season, but there's no set date.

3. The 9-11 fee: in effect since September 9

This one is smaller, but it's final. Since 2010, employers with 50 or more employees in the United States, more than half of them in H-1B or L-1 status, have paid an extra 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee: $4,000 for H-1B petitions and $4,500 for L-1. Until now, those employers generally paid it only on initial petitions and petitions for a change of employer.

A final rule effective September 9, 2026 requires these covered employers to pay it on every extension of status petition too, including an extension for the same worker with the same employer. It doesn't affect employers who aren't covered by the 50-employee and 50-percent test.

What this means for you

If you are an F-1 student planning on H-1B

• Staying in valid status until your change of status is approved matters more than ever. An in-country change of status is outside the proclamation payment only if it's granted. See what applies to F-1 students this fall.
• Traveling abroad while a change of status is pending can switch the case into consular processing, which the proclamation covers. Get advice before you leave.
• Employers will be looking at the proposed $103,265 fee when they plan next year's cap registrations. A cap-exempt employer avoids both the fee and the lottery.

If you already hold H-1B status

• Extensions and transfers filed from inside the United States and approved are not subject to the proclamation payment.
• If your employer is a covered employer under the 9-11 fee rule, your next extension with that same employer will cost it $4,000 more than it used to.
• If you lose your job, the rules on how long you can stay are also changing. See the proposal to end the 60-day grace period.

For how the cap season itself worked this year, including weighted selection, see what happens after the FY2027 cap.

Official sources

• H-1B Specialty Occupations, including who is subject to the $100,000 payment (USCIS)
• H-1B FAQ and court order notice (USCIS)
• Proclamation 11069, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (Federal Register, Sept. 23, 2026)
• Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions, proposed rule, 91 FR 54817 (Federal Register, Aug. 25, 2026)
• 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee for H-1B and L-1 Visas, final rule (Federal Register, Aug. 10, 2026)