Overview
- USCIS court filings show only 85 payments of the $100,000 charge since Sept. 21, 2025, totaling $8.5 million, while regular H‑1B fee revenue fell by about $28 million, leaving an estimated $19.5–20 million net shortfall.
- The bipartisan H‑1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act, introduced March 17 by Reps. Mike Lawler, Maria Elvira Salazar, Yvette Clarke, and Sanford Bishop Jr., would exempt physicians and other health workers from the levy and bar additional H‑1B fees beyond existing law.
- Major medical groups including the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, and AAMC back the exemption, warning the fee would worsen access to care, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
- The administration and DHS/USCIS defend the six‑figure payment as a measure to prioritize American workers and protect program integrity, even as 20 states challenge the policy in court and the government moved for summary judgment on March 9.
- Employers have pulled back on international hiring by rescinding offers, delaying start dates, and shifting to candidates already in the U.S., while economists such as Michael A. Clemens have criticized the Borjas study underpinning the fee’s economic rationale.