The Trump administration is again seeking to impose a payment for highly skilled worker visas, this time leaving out visas for educational institutions, nonprofits and governmental research organizations.
The Department of Homeland Security filed a notice Monday outlining its plan to charge a $103,265 fee for H-1B visa petitions. In June, a federal judge stopped the Trump administration from charging $100,000 for workers entering the country under the program, which President Donald Trump said had been abused by technology companies.
DHS is justifying the fee as a way to raise revenue for the costs of administering the legal immigration system. The department estimates it will get $8.8 billion annually and said in the notice submitted to the Federal Register that companies seeking to hire H-1B workers have a greater capability to absorb the cost.